OAKLAND (KRON) – A major clean-up effort kicked off Tuesday at one of Oakland’s larger and more high profile homeless encampments.

City officials say they’re taking this step because they are concerned about extreme fire danger there.

City workers scoop up the trash into garbage trucks and use front loaders to break up some of the many wooden structures at the homeless encampment next to the Fruitvale District Home Depot.  

City officials call the fire hazards in existence extreme and a risk to the people who call this place home.

“People have built structures out of wooden pallets, tarps and they’re using propane tanks, fire pits to cook and generators sometimes using generators inside some of these wooden structures it is a recipe for disaster,” Joe DeVries, the Assistant to Oakland City Administrator, said. 

The people who live there are not being kicked out, but they’re being asked to temporarily relocate to another part of the encampment while the first section is cleared and cleaned. 

They can come back when the job is done.  

The second section will be cleared and cleaned next week.  

A fire lane will be established for first responders to get access to render aid if needed and for garbage trucks to get in to regularly pick up trash.

One man says he’s been living here for two years and has mixed feelings about the steps the city is taking.

“It’s actually quite good because it kind of gives a chance for people to start over but at the same time, it’s a lot of work and time invested. Plus, not that material that they’re not gonna provide to rebuild or they don’t really want us to rebuild with would they want to have a tent it’s hard,” the man said. 

Officials said last month a fire broke out at this encampment burning two structures and an RV.

A fire on Oct. 8 at the East 12th Street encampment burned 5 structures. Another fire took out another five to six structures last week and is scheduled to be cleaned up next month.

The Oakland Fire Department says they have been 158 confirmed fires of various sizes related to homeless encampment within the first nine months of this year.