Video shows hidden Fresno overpass encampment before deadly bridge fire

A hidden shelter inside a Fresno overpass is now at the center of a deadly downtown fire, raising sharp questions about how long a makeshift encampment was able to remain out of sight on state-owned infrastructure.

The cellphone video, shared on social media and captured by an insider, showed a cramped living area tucked inside the overpass with curtains, wood flooring and cans and bottles scattered around the space. Days later, just before 8:30 a.m. Monday, May 11, 2026, fire broke out inside a bridge utility vault at Fresno and H streets in downtown Fresno. Two people were later found dead inside: Johnny Torres, 57, and Antonio Corona, 50.

The fire is still under investigation, but the scene has focused attention on a hard reality for Fresno County: hidden encampments can sit inside bridges and utility spaces that are not meant for human occupancy until a fire, collapse or rescue call forces them into view. Fresno Fire Department representative Josh Sellers said those spaces are dangerous and should not be used as shelter.

The overpass and bridge system fall within the state’s domain. Caltrans says it does not permit encampments on its right-of-way, which includes about 350,000 acres statewide, along with 15,133 centerline miles of highway and 13,063 state highway bridges. The agency says encampments can degrade highway infrastructure and create health, safety, access and concealment problems, a warning that now carries fresh weight in downtown Fresno.

State officials have also tried to tackle the issue through the SAFE Task Force, announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom on August 29, 2025. The effort brings together emergency management, social services, health care, drug treatment and public safety to clear encampments on state rights-of-way and connect people with shelter and other services. Recent state updates say the task force removed encampments on Highway 180 in Fresno that had drawn as many as 50 people at a time, then installed fencing, rocks and other deterrents to keep people from returning.

Since 2021, Caltrans says it has removed more than 20,600 encampments on state right-of-way and offered services to nearly 62,000 people. In Fresno, the latest deaths show how far the gap can still be between outreach systems and the people most cut off from them, especially when shelter is hidden inside the concrete skeleton of the city’s own infrastructure.