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ANSWERS ABOUT WHAT WILL BE DONE ABOUT THIS. MIKE: AS THEO TUCKER LOOKS OUT OVER HIS HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT IN SOUTH SACRAMENTO TODAY, HE SEES THAT MOST OF HIS POSSESSIONS HAVE BEEN DESTROYED. >> THAT’S MY MOTORCYCLE AND ALL THESE OTHER BICYCLES. MIKE: SO YOU LOST YOUR TRANSPORTATION? >> YES, I DID. MIKE: TUCKER’S THINGS WENT UP IN BIG FLAMES YESTERDAY WHEN A FIRE, SEEN HERE FROM LIVECOPTER 3, BROKE OUT SHORTLY BEFORE 5:00 P.M., SENDING BIG FLAMES INTO THE SKY. THE BLAZE WAS QUICKLY PUT OUT BY SACRAMENTO FIREFIGHTERS WHO FOUND MULTIPLE TOXIC HAZARDS AT THE SITE, ACCORDING TO ROBERTO PADILLA, A SPOKESMAN FOR THE FIREFIGHTER’S UNION. >> THERE’S AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF HYPODERMIC NEEDLES. THERE’S AN AMAZING AMOUNT OF BIOHAZARDS FROM PEOPLE LIVING IN THERE, AND OBVIOUSLY THE TOXICITY THAT COMES WITH THE MATERIALS. MIKE: THE HOMELESS CAMPS POSE DANGERS TO FIREFIGHTERS. NEARBY RESIDENTS LIKE ARMANI REYES ARE GROWING INCREASINGLY FRUSTRATED. >> IT’S A REGULAR THING OUT HERE. THE COPS HAVE CLEARED THEM OUT MULTIPLE TIMES. BUT EVERY TIME THEY JUST KEEP COMING BACK. MIKE: IT’S A SIMILAR STORY IN DOWNTOWN SACRAMENTO, WHERE HOMELESS CAMPERS SET FIRE OUTSIDE THE BUILDING HOUSING PIPEWORKS, A POPULAR GYM JUST LAST WEEK. IT’S A PROBLEM THAT APPEARS TO BE GETTING ONLY WORSE. >> OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS THERE IS WITHOUT A DOUBT AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF SERVICE CALLS THAT OUR MEMBERS RESPOND TO AS IT RELATES TO THE HOMELESS COMMUNITY, AND AMONG THEM IS FIRE-RELATED. MIKE: THE UPTICK IN FIRES CAUSED BY THE HOMELESS IS CREATING A BACKLASH FROM CITY RESIDENTS. >> THE NEIGHBORHOOD IS KIND OF ON EDGE RIGHT NOW AND THERE SEEMS TO BE NOTHING BEING DONE ABOUT IT. MIKE: BUT SWEEPING THE HOMELESS AWAY FROM ENCAMPMENTS LIKE THIS WOULD FACE LEGAL CHALLENGES, AND MAYOR DARRELL STEINBERG HAD THIS RESPONSE. LAST NIGHT’S FIRE VIVIDLY DEMONSTRATES WHY IT’S CRUCIAL TO PUSH FORWARD WITH MY INITIATIVE TO BUILD SERVICE-RICH SHELTERS, SO WE CAN BRING PEOPLE INDOORS, HELP THEM DEAL WITH ISSUES THAT CAUSED THEM TO BECOME HOMELESS, AND GET THEM INTO PERMANENT HOUSING. BACK HERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS TRASH HEAP THAT AT LEAST FIVE PEOPLE ARE CALLING HOME, THE CITY OF SACRAMENTO IS TAKING NO ACTION TO MOVE THEM OUT.

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Just one day after a big fire swept through a homeless encampment in south Sacramento, anger is growing among nearby homeowners who want the transients to move out.>> Download the KCRA 3 appBut Theo Tucker, a person who lives in the encampment, said he is in no hurry to vacate, even though most of his worldly possessions were destroyed by the fire. “That’s my motorcycle and other bicycles,” he said, pointing to the charred remains. Tucker’s vehicles and other items went up in flames when a fire broke out shortly before 5 p.m. Tuesday near Morrison Creek, southeast of 65th Street Expressway and Lemon Hill Avenue.The blaze was quickly extinguished by Sacramento city firefighters, who found multiple toxic hazards at the site, according to Roberto Padilla, a spokesperson for Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522.“There’s an incredible amount of hypodermic needles,” Padilla said. “There’s an amazing amount of biohazards from people living in there and, obviously, the toxicity that comes with the materials."Padillas said the homeless camps pose dangers to firefighters and to nearby residentsOne resident, Armani Reyes, said: “It’s a regular thing out here. The cops have cleared them out multiple times. But every time, they just keep coming back.”It’s a similar story in downtown Sacramento, where Pipeworks gym caught fire when flames spread from a nearby homeless encampment. It’s a problem that appears to be getting worse, Padilla said.“Over the last few years, there is, without a doubt, an increase in the number of service calls that our members respond to as it relates to the homeless community, and among them is fire-related,” he said.The uptick in fires caused by the encampments is creating a backlash from city residents. “The neighborhood is on edge right now, and there seems to be nothing being done about it,” Reyes said.But sweeping the homeless away from encampments would cause legal challenges.In a statement, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said, “Last night’s fire vividly demonstrates why it’s crucial to push forward with my initiative to build service-rich shelters, called Navigation Centers, around the city so we can bring people indoors, help them deal with the issues that caused them to become homeless, and get them into permanent housing.”In the meantime, frustration is growing for homeowners living near the encampment. “No one wants to see the trash,” Reyes said. “And no one wants to have the anxiety of a kid running outside, trips, falls and lands on a needle.”Padilla said there are environmental concerns, as well. “They are cutting out into levees. It's a tripping hazard,” he said. “As you dig into the levees, it creates a safety hazard to the community that's being protected by the levee. Also, all the waste that's being washed down into these canals."The lack of response is flustering for Reyes, who said, "I would love the city to do more.”But doing more, like moving the homeless people out of the camps, would trigger legal challenges from the courts, which have ruled that cities can do so only if there is room for homeless people in a shelter. The Sacramento city attorney has joined in a legal brief asking the Supreme Court to review a lower court's ruling. In his statement, Steinberg said, “Moving people from place to place won’t solve the problem -- not in the south area -- or any other part of Sacramento.”He added, “The south area in particular needs such a shelter, and we are moving ahead to open a Navigation Center for women and children within months on Meadowview Road.”City workers plan to be on the banks of Morrison Creek on Thursday to check the levee for any damage, said Lon Peterson, a spokesperson for the Department of Utilities."Given the fire (Tuesday), the site needs to be cleaned, which is scheduled for Oct. 4,” he added.