UCSO begins clearing out homeless camps

UMATILLA COUNTY – The Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office has begun the process of clearing out a number of homeless camps on the west side. Undersheriff Jim Littlefield says one of the areas is on Umatilla River Road south of the city of Umatilla. The other are a number of camps on the Oxbow property adjacent to Riverfront Park in Hermiston.

The area near Umatilla is county property. Last week deputies took the first step in clearing out the property.

“We notify the people that are on the camps that they can’t be there and they’re trespassing,” he said. “We give them adequate time to remove their items.”

Littlefield said they are given two to three weeks to clear out. After that, deputies return and the camps are dismantled.

The Oxbow area is managed by the Bureau of Reclamation and policed by U.S. Fish and Wildlife. Deputies in that area were joined by their federal counterparts as well as staff from Community Counseling Solutions. Littlefield said there are about 10 camps in use currently and the area is filled with garbage from abandoned camps as well. Those people have been given a month’s notice to move.

“In the meantime, we’re going to try to find resources to do the cleanup,” Littlefield said. “That’s going to be a pretty big job.”

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