If you think there have been a lot more homeless encampment fires of late, you would be right. But, homeless encampment fires are somewhat a numbers game, but the numbers are hard to find.
The fire that burned a Pittsburg roofing business's inventory and storage lot full of plastic piping, was caused by a fire that started in a homeless encampment just outside of the businesses perimeters.
With fire season longer, hotter, dryer and often windier, firefighters have great reason to be concerned and so should you.
By the Bay Area Council's count, there are slightly more than 28,200 homeless people in the Bay Area. Sixty-seven percent of them—about 19,000, have no temporary shelters, subsidized or transitional housing. That helps experts understand why so many homeless encampments have sprung up everywhere.
"This highlights a particular problem for us this time of year with the high fire dangers we're experiencing now and will through the fall certainly," said Steve Hill.
But, fire-related numbers are actually hard to come by.