Homeless Camp Clean-Up Begins In Downtown Walnut Creek

Walnut Creek police have moved in and are clearing out three homeless encampments in the downtown area.

Officers and a clean-up crew started the operation Thursday morning.

They first visited the camp underneath the South California Boulevard bridge near Newell Avenue. That camp overlooking the downtown creek had been mostly vacated by the homeless people who were warned early in the week about the clean-up.

The items left behind were tossed into a large moving truck. One homeless man’s belongings remained in a shopping cart on the sidewalk near the bridge. He was coming back later in the day to gather his property.

The truck was then taken to the homeless camp on the South Main Street bridge near Lilac Drive not too far from the Kaiser Permanente medical facility.

A crew from Steri-Clean was busy underneath the bridge, tossing garbage and other items into plastic trash bags.

Kyle St. George, director of business for the firm that specializes in hoarder and homeless clean-ups, said the scene at South Main Street was “pretty standard” for the operations he’s been involved in.

St. George said his crew was tossing out most items but would save anything valuable as well as the clothing that was hung on a pipe to return to the one homeless occupant who still there on Thursday morning.

“He hangs his clothes better than my son does,” said St. George. “This is like a home to him.”

The crew and Walnut Creek police will head to another encampment along the creek west of the South Main Street location on Monday.

The clean-up is part of an effort by Walnut Creek police to clear out homeless camps before the winter weather sets in.

In all instances, homeless people are given 72 hours notice as well as information about shelters and other services.