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Fire breaks out near planned 'Cop City'
A fire broke out right across the street from the Boulder Walk subdivision in DeKalb County where a first responder training center is planned to be built. It happened not far from the so-called "Cop City." It’s at the center of a two-year battle over forest land where police want to build their facility. Neighbors say they worry about their safety.
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - Another fire has broken out across the street from the Boulder Walk subdivision in DeKalb County. The flames erupted on property not far from a planned training center for first responders that protesters call "Cop City." It’s at the center of a two-year battle over forest land where police want to build their facility.
The fire is the latest in a string of incidents that have turned ugly.
Flames erupted around 4 a.m. on Thursday at the site on Key Road near Bouldercrest Road. The DeKalb Fire Department confirms the flames torched some excavating and construction equipment.
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Stacey Comer lives nearby. She wasn’t sure what to think at first.
"Initially, I didn’t know what it was," Comer said. Then an unmistakable sound woke her up. "I heard a loud boom. It’s very alarming. It’s scary."
The neighborhood has been pulled into a drawn-out battle over the training facility. A loosely united group, known as Defend the Atlanta Forest, call the planned facility "Cop City." They oppose what they see as an encroachment of a police state into the Atlanta woodlands.
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Tensions have escalated at the site and the surrounding area. Vandals in July destroyed surveillance cameras in the Boulder Walk neighborhood. A couple of weeks later, vandals destroyed a truck of a landowner of a nearby property.
"It is frustrating, Comer said. "There’s a lot of children in the community, a lot of families. I would just like to know when there’s going to be an end to it."
FOX 5 reached out to Defend the Atlanta Forest. They sent an email saying they’d responded within three days.
FOX 5 also asked DeKalb police if they are they investigating these incidents and if they have made any arrests. So far, they have not responded.