Homeless camps in tamarisk trees cause major fire hazard
Tamarisk trees are all over the Coachella Valley and homeless people are using them to build encampments, which could cause a fire hazard.
Homeless people will move in and start fires to stay warm or to cook food. Those fires can get out of control.
“A fire within a tamarisk tree is difficult and challenging even though the fire doesn’t get really large, they require a lot of resources, the reason for this is the tamarisk tree consistently loses its needles,” said Daniel Talbot, battalion chief for Cal Fire in Indio.
“The needles accumulate under the tree upwards of 3 to 4 feet thick, for us to fully extinguish the fire we have to dig down and remove all of the burning material and that can take a while with material that can be that thick,” said Talbot.
You’ll find tamarisk trees planted near freeways or railways as a wind break.
“The trees that are serving a purpose for the railroad, that’s a different story, they serve a purpose, but there is definitely a large number of stands that no longer serve a purpose and should be eradicated,” said Talbot.
It’s not just fire that makes living in encampments under these trees dangerous.
“The dangers out there is it’s hot, you have bugs, snakes, they could get injured and can’t get medical attention. You have to deal with all the elements out there so it’s not a place for somebody to habitat,” said Mark McGowan, men’s service manager for the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission or CVRM.
“We are trying to end chronic homelessness one person at a time, so what works for one might not work for another, so we have to change up our strategies all the time on an individual basis,” said Tom Cox, program director for CVRM.
The Coachella Valley Rescue Mission will have volunteers go to homeless encampments during the summer to hand out bottled water and try to get these homeless people into a better living situation.
