The Brief
- A 50-foot pile of trash at a homeless encampment caught fire under the Buford Highway Connector near Interstate 85 on Monday, Aug. 10, the latest in a string of fires troubling nearby residents.
- Residents of the Cedar Chase Condominiums in Lindridge-Martin Manor say they’ve dealt with repeated bridge fires for years and want city and state leaders to find a solution.
- The land under the bridges is state right-of-way; GDOT relies on Atlanta police to enforce Georgia’s anti-camping law and points to a July 2022 agreement with the city of Atlanta that outlines each agency’s role.
ATLANTA – For seven years, Cory Knopp has called the Cedar Chase Condominiums home. For seven years, he’s woken up, nearly every day, to the smell of campfires burning near his property.
“We’ve experienced fires in our neighborhood, behind our property, on the trail, encampments under the bridge, and other locations around us,” Knopp told FOX 5.
Knopp and his neighbors live in the Lindridge-Martin Manor neighborhood of Atlanta. The area includes Cheshire Bridge Road and the Buford Highway Connector, both no stranger to fires threatening lives and infrastructure.
Monday’s fire near Peachtree Creek
What we know:…