The Austin Fire Department faced “extremely hazardous” conditions on Monday morning battling a blaze and searching for survivors at a sprawling homeless camp under a highway that was strewn with needles and debris.
“It’s extremely hazardous for the firefighters as it is under the road (three football fields) with hundreds of needles and other dangerous debris,” said the Fire Department’s public relations team.
The firefighters spent several hours digging through remains to search for residents and fire before turning over the site to the Texas Department of Transportation for cleanup.
The blaze took place at at a homeless camp underneath the eastbound frontage road of Anderson Lane between IH-35 and Cameron Road. The Fire Department said the cause of the fire was undetermined.
No injuries were reported.
As many as 50 people were living at the site, the Fire Department stated. Photos distributed by the Department’s public information team show piles of shopping carts, mattresses, couches, stoves, and other belongings of the persons who had lived at the site.
Prior to the blaze the Fire Department visited the area frequently for medical calls, Acting Division Chief Matthew Cox told KXAN news. “We always feared there would be a fire. Well, there was a fire,” he said.
Austin’s Watershed Department has recently undertaken an effort to clean up homeless camps near waterways. The site where the blaze took place this morning was next to a waterway, which puts it within the purview of this department.
The Texas Department of Transportation has also been carrying out cleanup campaigns under highway underpasses.
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