A community of houseless individuals reside underneath Coburg Road in Eugene, Ore., on May 5, 2021. (Ali Watson/Emerald)

Contractors hired by the Bonneville Power Administration]have been accused by homeless advocates of attempting to displace unhoused campers.

On May 22, contractors from Franklin Contracting Inc. approached unhoused campers in a right-of-way area near North Bertelsen Road and proceeded to clear vegetation. The clearing was to mitigate a potential fire hazard.

The section of land in which contractors were working is private property with right-of-way power lines belonging to the Bonneville Power Administration overhead.

Contractors from Franklin Inc. asked campers to remove their belongings so they could work on the vegetation and said that campers would be allowed to return as soon as the work was done.

Homeless advocates calling themselves the Barefoot Defenders appeared on the scene during the clearing of vegetation  to help facilitate moving campers still in the area.

Jetty, a member of the Barefoot Defenders who goes by an alias, spoke to campers in the field and was allegedly told the contractor on-site “ran somebody’s tent over and generator” while another camper was sleeping in a nearby tent.

 “Nobody was told he was coming. He just came in,” Jetty said.

According to Jetty, one of the campers settling in the area lives with specific medical ailments that prevent him from moving out.

“As he was walking back he kept having to stop and catch his breath and try to keep going,” Jetty said. “It was just really sad to watch.”

In the Emerald’s email correspondence with BPA, Media Relations Specialist, Kevin Wingert, said BPA officials made contact with two individuals who were camping in the area two weeks before the vegetation clearing in order for them of the maintenance work. Wingert said that on May 22, the day of the maintenance, BPA attempted to contact campers but did not receive a response.

Wingert said there were “life safety concerns” for the campers who have been living under power lines since December.

BPA power lines are not insulated with rubber sheathing which means they pose a fatality risk for anyone directly underneath.

“Our lines are not designed for habitation directly below them or in the right-of-way,” Wingert said. “Additionally, burning fires — common with encampments— can lead to an uncontrolled fire that could burn wood poles or produce enough smoke to disrupt the transmission line.”

Wingert said contractors working in the area gave adequate spacing around the encampment to maintain safety. The mower operator asked some individuals to move their belongings so as not to damage property.

Security guards from Eugene Water and Electric Board were also present during Franklin Contracting Inc.’s work.

In a video obtained through the social media platform, TikTok, EWEB officers can be heard describing the purpose of their presence as “to make sure whoever was living over there does not come on to EWEB property.”

“I think they [unhoused campers] are mad and they are sad, and saying ‘where do we go?’” Jetty said. “It’s so frustrating, where is people’s humanity?”

In an email correspondence with the Emerald, EWEB officials said “the contractors were working on a property adjacent to EWEB’s, so EWEB staff were present for everyone’s safety due to the proximity to our property.”

In the same TikTok video, Barefoot Defenders and campers from the area can be seen yelling at contractors. This contradicts BPA’s email statement that there were “no negative interactions with individuals from the camp.”

The ostensible lack of accessible housing and shelters in Lane County has caused advocates like Jetty to ask what areas campers are allowed to inhabit.

Lane County has around 17 shelters for the unhoused, 22 transitional housing shelters and one short-term housing service for those who have been discharged from hospitals. All of these shelters have specific guidelines and criteria to gain entry and a limited amount of beds available.

“I’d really like the city to set out a few pieces of land throughout the city; we have enough land,” Jetty said. “This would give people a place to exist.”

Moving forward, BPA will begin to coordinate their work with local authorities to address campers in the right-of-way when dealing with safety concerns, Wingert said.

Franklin Contracting Inc. was contacted but declined to make an official comment on the interaction that occurred.