California officials are searching for solutions after once again discovering caves dug out by the homeless on the banks of the Tuolumne River.
Modesto police, the Tuolumne River Trust, and a volunteer river clean-up organisation, Operation 9-2-99, cleared out approximately 7,600 pounds of trash from the caves and the surrounding banks, according to CBS13 .
Local officials have known that homeless individuals have been digging out caves in the area for more than a year. In November 2022, CBS13 accompanied officials to the site. Reporters at that outlet said the recently cleared-out caves were far more complex than what they had viewed in 2022.
Modesto police worked with members of its HEART Team, park rangers, and other local organisations to notify the people living in the caves that they would be forced to move. The homeless individuals who were moved were reportedly given assistance.
A spokesperson for the city told CBS13 that officials were monitoring the site and would continue connecting homeless individuals with assistance services.