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La Plata County gets ready to close the Purple Cliffs homeless encampment

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Purple Cliffs south of Durango is being dismantled on October 1.
Kate Redmond

Critics of the county and the city of Durango are left wondering where residents will go at the beginning of October, when they can no longer camp on La Posta Road behind Home Depot.

Purple Cliffs has been adequate for three years, when unhoused people were evacuated there during the 416 Fire in 2018. It’s known as a “primitive camp,” because there are no rules and people can come and go.

The county’s solution, which hasn't yet been formalized, is a “managed camp”. But while the plans are still nebulous, winter is coming.

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