Rats have overtaken a homeless camp near the park.

The homeless camp popped up in Lincoln Memorial Park, across from the Colorado State Capital Building, and has become not only an eyesore but a hazardous situation to the health of those living there and the neighborhood surrounding it. The area has become littered with trash, human waste, drug paraphernalia, animal feces, and food remnants, as about 100 people have set up a temporary tent city.

All of this has created a rat infestation, along with an odor.

The Denver Department of Health shut down the park located at 1449 Lincoln Street, on Wednesday, January 15, due to the rats.

“Human and animal waste, drug paraphernalia, food waste … it’s making the conditions unsafe. We’ll reopen the park when it’s safe for people to be here again,” said Ann Cecchine-Williams, Deputy Executive Director of the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment.

Due to the health hazard, the camp was shut down without advance notice and those living there had to pack up as soon as the notices were served.

According to the health department, the infestation is quite large and will require several weeks to clean up. It is also possible the closure may spread beyond the park as the cleanup gets underway. However, the full scope of the rat infestation won't be uncovered until the cleanup effort moves along.

The work will take some time and involve cleaning up the massive amount of trash, especially the food waste, which has sustained and attracted the animals and is one of the main reasons the infestation has grown so large so quickly. Sidewalks will be cleaned and scrubbed with bleach to kill all the germs and diseases that the rodents spread in their feces and with human contact.

Lincoln Memorial Park will be opened again when the rat infestation is fully cleaned up and gone, but as of now, there is no specific date set.

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