City crews clear RVs, encampments from stretch of Forest Lawn Drive in Hollywood Hills

HOLLYWOOD HILLS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- As part of a massive cleanup operation Wednesday afternoon, city crews and tow trucks removed RVs and makeshift vehicle encampments that were parked along a 2-mile stretch of Forest Lawn Drive in Hollywood Hills.

Multiple RVs, some of them inoperable, have been parked on Forest Lawn Drive for years.

Wednesday's operation was part of the city's Inside Safe program, aimed at helping homeless people into housing. After the RVs were towed away Wednesday, crews were expected to return Thursday to complete cleanup operations.

"This is what happens when we act collectively," Mayor Karen Bass said. "And collectively we have accomplished nearly 5,000 more Angelenos entering interim housing this year than last year. We've nearly doubled the amount of Angelenos who've entered permanent housing compared to last year."

Andrew Rindge said he came to the location on Wednesday to check on his friends who live in one of the RVs. He talked about what it was like for them as they waited for city workers to descend upon the street and clear out the vehicles.

"A couple of days ago, people started telling them that they're going to clean the whole area up, and that they had to leave on a certain day -- today," Rindge told reporters. "There was nothing written down or anything, just people coming from the city and telling them they had to leave."

Asked where his friends planned to go, Rindge said: "I don't know. I don't even think they really know where they're going yet. Somebody came by and offered them a hotel, but they're not really getting back to them or doing anything. So they don't really know where they're going, they just know where to temporarily park their vehicles."

The section of Forest Lawn Drive was closed to traffic, with the exception of employees of nearby businesses, as the removal of vehicles continued.