Hidden Encampment in Edmonton Forest Dismantled Solar Grid, Appliances, and Weapons Recovered
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
176.37997
Summary
In this episode, I talk about a recent response to an illegal encampment that was set up in the Fulton Creek area of Brooklyn, New York. The encampment was extensive and included solar panels, running water, a running sink, a laundry machine, and a coffee maker.
Transcript
00:00:07.100
In my experience with the encampment team so far, I haven't seen anything this extensive, this elaborate.
00:00:12.580
We're just off Fulton Creek in the 34th Street area, just off of a local dog park.
00:00:17.440
We're responding to an illegal encampment that's been set up.
00:00:23.340
We've recovered four generators, two of which were buried underground to power everything.
00:00:27.800
There is a creek, like I mentioned, and they have a generator stuck into the ground there to pump water to the site for a running sink and a laundry machine as well.
00:00:36.720
So this is the more extensive of the two sites here, if you want to follow me.
00:00:44.300
We've got a fireplace, obviously chimney up front, out the top there.
00:00:51.020
Operational sink, operational laundry machine, bridge, laundry, coffee maker.
00:00:56.520
And then if you wanted to capture the floor, this was all natural earth.
00:01:03.060
The flooring is not something I had seen before at one of these encampments.
00:01:16.860
We removed the bikes to check the serial numbers.
00:01:19.560
And it just kind of goes further back and back.
00:01:22.340
We've come across shotgun shells, knives, machetes, and a couple other firearms located within the encampment here.
00:01:29.960
One of our park rangers had his drone out earlier.
00:01:33.440
It was very difficult to see with the black tarping and obviously the leaves and earth that they used to conceal it here.
00:01:39.820
The fencing that they've created goes all the way around inside the property, even outside a little bit there.
00:01:46.580
And with how thick they kind of interlocked the branches, it's actually difficult to see, especially in the middle of summer.
00:01:54.340
When we arrived, we were able to confirm that five people were sleeping here.
00:01:58.720
The one gentleman who did admit to being here the longest did state that he was here since last winter.
00:02:06.400
As you may have seen, you've seen the fireplaces.
00:02:08.340
There is wire strung in and around the whole area inside the houses there.
00:02:20.080
And that thing could come down and crush whoever's inside, unfortunately.
00:02:23.680
There's not a lot of access to food, grocery stores, anything like that out here.
00:02:28.400
And I think that just goes to show how widespread these encampment issues are becoming from the downtown core.