Sacramento firefighters search partially collapsed tunnel at homeless campsite
Firefighters on Friday afternoon searched but found nobody inside a tunnel used as a homeless campsite after it partially collapsed in Sacramento’s River District.
The California Highway Patrol was out Friday conducting abatement enforcement in the area along Bercut Drive, east of Interstate 5 and about 100 yards north of Summit Tunnel Avenue, said Capt. Justin Sylvia, a spokesperson for the Sacramento Fire Department.
Sylvia said they found an estimated 30-foot-long tunnel with two entrances that was partially collapsed, apparently from recent rainfall. He said homeless people living in the area told authorities that a man in his 30s had been living in the tunnel, but they were not sure if he was inside when the tunnel collapsed.
“We don’t know if he’s underground,” Sylvia said about two hours after the search began. “We don’t know if anyone is in there.”
The Fire Department was called to the scene about 11:30 a.m. Friday to launch a search. Sylvia said firefighters initially began trying to dig their way into the collapsed tunnel, but authorities later deployed a cadaver dog trained to search for people buried under rubble.
He said firefighters found some signs that the tunnel was being used as a campsite, including a structural support system with cyclone fencing and branches to hold it up along with tarps and other living materials.
By 6 p.m. Friday, the Fire Department’s search had ended without anyone found in the tunnel. Sylvia said city crews had taken over at the site and were sealing the tunnel.
This story was originally published October 17, 2025 at 1:32 PM.
