In this Sept. 1, 2016 photo, "Mohawk" Craig Alexenko sits on top of refuse cleared out of a homeless encampment along the Springwater Corridor during a police sweep in southeast Portland, Ore. The city of Portland has declared a "homeless emergency" as skyrocketing rents, an affordable housing shortage and a lack of shelter beds has led to encampments all across the city, including the one where Alexenko has been living. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)
Petaluma Police are releasing details on a large scale take-down of a homeless encampment. A workforce of 27 people from the police, water agency, conservation corps and the Mary Issak Center converged on the location on the bank of the Petaluma River yesterday morning. It took four hours to take down a structure and remove 40 cubic yards of waste from the illegal encampment along Petaluma Boulevard North. No occupants were on the scene during yesterday’s operation.