June 9, 2018 – As fire season resumes, several county departments are ramping up efforts to discourage illegal camping and campfires within the unincorporated areas of the County. Outreach workers, funded by the Behavioral Health Department, regularly visit known homeless camps to encourage individuals to accept services and come in from camping in the woods. County Facilities staff regularly walk all County owned properties to look for signs of encampments and when found, they are reported to Nevada County’s Housing Resources Manager for follow up by the outreach workers.
In addition, the Sheriff’s office has several Community Oriented Policing Projects (COPPs) around the unincorporated areas of Nevada County to patrol locations that have been the subject of complaints regarding trespassing, vandalism, littering, and/or illegal dumping. The Sheriff’s office has a process to handle and respond to these types of complaints to the best of their ability and within the legal limits of the law.
Finally, a multidisciplinary team has been meeting regularly throughout the winter to address fire and other safety concerns, specifically in the Yuba River canyon. The team includes representatives from CAL FIRE, Nevada County Consolidated Fire District, Nevada County Sheriff, Office of Emergency Services, California State Parks, Bureau of Land Management, South Yuba River Citizens League, Friends of Purdon Crossing, and Board of Supervisors. Group efforts are underway to address parking, sanitation, fire and communication issues in the area.