The city of Placerville, which authorized an official homeless encampment called Hangtown Haven, Wednesday closed down an illegal settlement a mile away.
City officials recently informed homeless people living in the woods behind a Dollar Tree store on Broadway Street that they needed to go.
The city received widespread publicity last year when it approved Hangtown Haven, a fenced encampment on a forested slope north of the Placerville's historic downtown, in a bid to give homeless an alternative to burning dangerous fires in the woods or sleeping in city parks.
But people were still living in the unauthorized camp to the west. The colony dispersed by Wednesday before police and city officers closed it down and began cleaning out discarded belongings.
"It's just an illegal, unapproved campground, nothing to do with Hangtown Haven, just a bunch of people living illegally on somebody's land," said Cleve Morris, Placerville city manager.
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