() Officials are sounding the alarm on homeless people illegally using power from light poles to charge electronic devices and use different appliances inside encampments.
It has been seen in cities like Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Los Angeles. Video on Instagram shows open wires dragged across a road from a light pole to a homeless encampment in LA. Officials say it poses a great safety risk.
In the southern parts of LA, numerous light poles have been broken into with exposed wire hanging out. City public works crews have spent days working to clear illegal wires leading to a block of encampments.
Residents in areas of LA near encampments have reported seeing a flat-screen TV and an air conditioning unit set up in a tent. Neighborhood concern has grown because improper wiring is a fire hazard. According to a memo from the Los Angeles Fire Department, nearly a third of all fires in the last six years have involved a member of the homeless community.
In 2023, a major fire caused significant damage to and shut down a key stretch of the 10 freeway in LA that was near a homeless encampment. The cause of that fire was determined to be arson, and while CAL FIRE released photos of a potential suspect, no arrests in the case have been made.
According to the Public Policy Institute of California, the state is home to the largest homeless population of all other states, estimated to be about 187,000 people. Nearly half are unhoused and living on the streets.
