SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – It was an all-too-familiar story for the Maritime Institute in Point Loma – another fire from a homeless encampment near the training school.
On Tuesday night, a fire erupted next to a eucalyptus tree close to the facility.
"I was asking myself, ‘Is this the fire that is finally going to take out the tree and go on to our building?’" said Dave Abrams, CEO of the Maritime Institute.
Luckily, this fire didn’t cause any major damage.
But the lighter fluid was still there when ABC 10News reporter Aaron Dickens talked to Abrams on Wednesday.
"This is a company full of people here. Their livelihood depends on this business and the thousands of mariners we serve," said Abrams.
ABC 10News has met with Abrams several times this year. The school has been dealing with the same issue -- a homeless encampment on the other side of its property.
Every time Caltrans clears it out, the encampment comes back.
"The challenge we have now is this is no longer a homeless issue. This is an issue of criminal activity. Someone who has said they are going to keep coming back to this location," said Abrams.
He added, "We are letting people live in squalor. The much more humane thing would be to put them in a treatment facility, where they can get the treatment they need and move on with their lives.”
ABC 10News will keep you updated on what happens next with the encampment.
ABC 10News reached out to Caltrans, but the agency did not respond as of the publication of this story.
