Dozens of homeless people who have been living in a national forest in central Oregon for years were being evicted Thursday by the US Forest Service, as it closed the area for a wildfire prevention project that will involve removing smaller trees,

The closure at Deschutes National Forest was for a fire-prevention project, but advocates worry the displaced will have nowhere to go.

When the U.S. Forest Service announced in January that it would be closing 30,000 acres of Deschutes National Forest southeast of Bend for a wildfire reduction project, Steve Putnam canceled the surgery he had scheduled to remedy his carpal tunnel problems.