Forest closure could be ‘largest mass eviction of homeless people in recent history,’ advocates say

One of Central Oregon’s longest-standing homeless encampments, located in the forest south of Bend, will be closed Thursday unless a judge issues an order to halt the sweep at the request of a pending lawsuit.

While that could happen at any time, the U.S. District Court of Oregon’s deadline to rule on the case doesn’t fall until after May 1, the date the U.S. Forest Service will begin enforcing a closure of 34,000 acres in the Deschutes National Forest — including the tract of homeless camps along China Hat Road and deeper in the forest — with violations carrying fines of up to $5,000 or six months of jail time.

The closure will allow the Forest Service to complete the Cabin Butte Vegetation Management Project, a thinning project for forest health and wildfire risk reduction. The Forest Service announced the closure in January, commencing a three-and-a-half month timeline for an estimated 100-200 homeless campers to move out of the forest.

Nonprofits and advocates have made progress in recent weeks helping people relocate their cars and trailers elsewhere, but there could still be dozens of people left in their camps when the Forest Service begins enforcing the closure, according to estimates from some service providers.

But some advocates have been working hard to stop that from happening. In March, they helped file more than 80 disability complaints with the federal government and asked the Forest Service to redo an allegedly flawed environmental assessment. On April 18, four homeless campers at China Hat sued the agency on behalf of all other homeless residents, backed by local volunteers and outreach workers Chuck Hemingway and Eric Garrity.

“We’re holding and waiting to see what the court might decide, but in the meantime acting as best we can to help get people relocated,” Hemingway said.

He estimated there were about 80 people still living in the camps as of Friday.

‘Largest mass eviction’

In an April 23 Facebook post, the National Homelessness Law Center, which advocates on and litigates homelessness issues across the country, said the upcoming sweep “may be the largest mass eviction of homeless people in recent history.” The group hosted a “mass organizing call” for China Hat on Monday evening. The national group warned of a “potentially catastrophic clash between people forced to live outside and federal police.”

Forest Service Law Enforcement officers have been present at the homeless encampments since January to notify residents of the upcoming closure. People who live in the camps have reported an uptick in run-ins with officers, who began to issue citations for driving on the network of unsanctioned dirt roads leading to the encampments.

It’s unclear exactly how law enforcement will approach enforcement of the closure on Thursday. When asked when citations would be issued and whether the Forest Service would forcibly remove campers, Kaitlyn Webb, a spokesperson for the Forest Service, said: “The closure will be patrolled and enforced by Forest Service Law Enforcement Officers and staff. Violation of the forest closure order may result in a Class B Misdemeanor, a fine of up to $5,000, and/or up to six months in jail. Forest Service law enforcement officers will issue notices of violation if they are needed.”

The Forest Service has called on local law enforcement to help bolster capacity once the closure goes into effect, according to Webb.

That includes supporting patrols from the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Kent van der Kamp said officers will be present to assist with criminal activity, but doesn’t have any authority to enforce the closure of Forest Service land. That will be left up to federal officers, he said.

Van der Kamp said interactions between sheriff’s officers and people living at China Hat usually has to do with offers to get people connected with help.

“Our contacts with people have been actually pretty good,” he said.

Moving out

In recent weeks, it seems as though more people have been receptive to housing and vehicle services than in the past, said Donna Burklo, interim executive director with Central Oregon Villages, a shelter in Bend that also employs an outreach worker at China Hat and other encampments. The nonprofit can help provide rent assistance to people who are ready to move into housing. There are many other barriers for people living in the forest, including vehicle registration, drivers license issues, unpaid parking tickets or car trouble that might be preventing them from leaving.

Some of the more complicated issues take time to work out, Burklo said. For that reason, the city of Bend and Deschutes County created a “temporary safe stay area” north of Bend to help campers there transition with intent to close the camps by the end of 2026.

“That was organized in a way that allowed service providers time to work through these things,” Burklo said.

At China Hat, the time is nearly up. Several service providers said some people from China Hat have relocated to the designated camping area at Juniper Ridge north of Bend, even though the project’s stated intent was to serve people who were already there.

“It’s just going to get more crowded over there,” said Frank Strupith, an outreach worker with Central Oregon Veterans Outreach, which serves both camps.

The nonprofit helps control garbage in the camps by leaving a trailer for people to dispose of trash. Strupith said he hauled 15,000 pounds of trash out of China Hat camps in March, which is more than usual. He said people have been eager to clean up their camps as they leave.

But much of the stuff will probably stay out there, he said. Cars, RVs and other equipment have been sitting in the forest for years and no longer work.

Several outreach groups have worked with towing companies to haul people’s vehicles and belongings elsewhere. Hemingway, who is helping to lead the lawsuit, said people have moved to the forests near La Pine and public lands east of Bend in addition to the new designated area.

He helped Chris Daggett tow his trailer away over the weekend after Daggett’s truck broke down. Daggett and his partner Mandy Bryant are plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the Forest Service. Daggett has camped in the China Hat area for six years. He ran a woodworking shop at his camp, which had solar power and hot water.

“We had everything,” he said Monday. “I have to go back to square one.”

He and Bryant plan to stay with family in Bend for a month. They don’t know where they will go after.