San Bernardino clears encampment at Bobby Vega Park

In October this year, San Bernardino Mayor Helen Tran said during a press conference that clearing homeless encampments would be the City’s “Number 1 priority,” and she wasn’t kidding.

Early Thursday morning last week, San Bernardino Public Works crews, accompanied by the San Bernardino Housing and Homeless Division, Police Officers, and staff from the Salvation Army and Burrtec made quick work of clearing the last of 21 homeless encampments at Bobby Vega Park near Mount Vernon Elementary School, making it the third park cleared in the past few weeks.

The city said in a statement that outreach staff had been on site a week prior to encourage individuals to accept services and to be sure they were aware that the cleanup would be taking place on December 12. By the time cleanup began, only a few inhabitants remained, many of them accepting the services offered by the City, County, and non-profit partners.

Four kittens were found during the cleanup and were given to Animal Services to be put up for adoption if no one comes forward to claim them. People are encouraged to call (909) 998-4000 to claim the kittens.

Bobby Vega Park will be closed for the next several days so that City crews can perform deeper cleaning and repairs at the park.

As with Perris Hill and Wildwood Parks, new signs will be posted at Bobby Vega Park detailing park hours and the prohibition of camping. Park rangers, private security, and the San Bernardino Police Department will be enforcing these rules upon the Park’s reopening.