Homeless found living in furnished caves in California highlight ongoing state crisis

California caves dug out by people experiencing homelessness has the community and city officials concerned for the safety of those living underneath the Tuolumne River. The discovery also brings to the forefront the state's ongoing crisis with unhoused people.

The Modesto Police Department, the Tuolumne River Trust, and Operation 9-2-99, a volunteer river clean-up organization, worked together to clean up approximately 7,600 pounds of trash from the caves and the surrounding areas, according to local outlet CBS13.

The caves, which are located about 20 feet below street level, can be entered by a makeshift staircase that was built onto the hillside.

Residents who live in the area have expressed concerns over the safety of the unhoused people living in the cave that should be considered unfit for anyone to live in.

"If one of these were to collapse, it would be devastating," said Tracy Rojas, a homeowner that lives near the caves, told CBS13 in an interview. "This whole thing would come down and go into the water." 

Rojas said the caves were fully furnished and included bedding, belongings, food, drugs, and items on a makeshift mantel and weapons.

"You can see the hooks on the wall where they had bottles and stuff hanging down," Rojas told CBS13. "I think there needs to be more emphasis on the homeless. They are at the point where you can see they are desperate." 

'Most at risk of dying':Those without homes face challenges from Hurricane Hilary in SoCal, advocates warn

Homeless caves on the Tuolumne River bank have residents concerned

With many natural phenomena’s occurring along the Tuolumne River bank, like rising water levels and erosion, the belongings of the unhoused are being washed away into the river. Another issue that is causing a concern is contamination. 

"It's a hazard for not only the people who are living in there but the people who are walking up there," Rojas told CBS13. 

The caves may be cleared for now, but the neighborhood near the river is feeling no real sense of peace in this problem. 

"It's a safety hazard for them and the community," Rojas told CBS13. 

Chris Guptill, a coordinator for Operation 9-2-99, told CBS13 that that filling in the caves likely wouldn't work. Guptill believes that the unhoused community would carve out new caves.

“We really don't have a known solution on how to deal with it," Guptill said.

California has the highest rate of homelessness

California has the highest rate of people experiencing homelessness in the United States. Accounting for nearly 30% of the population, California has approximately 162,000 unhoused individuals, according to the World Population Review.

Across Los Angeles County, more people without shelter are living in low-lying areas after being pushed out of neighborhoods when sanitation workers began doing more frequent homeless sweeps in January of last year, advocates told USA TODAY back in August 2023 when Hurricane Hilary hit Southern California. The sweeps, described by Soleil Ngo of West Adams Mutual Aid as "very whack-a-mole," have prompted people to live in hard-to-access places in order to avoid being swept out again.

Increasingly, people are living in “hidden spaces” or “hidden up under” topography in order to be “someplace that's out of the way," Ngo said. Orendorff said more people are living in their tents along river beds, under bridges, in tunnels, and underground.