EAST PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Bulldozers were poised Wednesday to begin clearing a vacant lot that has been a homeless encampment of tents, lean-tos and hand-dug caves for nearly seven years.

Anywhere from 10 to 20 people have called the lot of dry-grass marshland at the end of Demeter Street off Bay Road home over the years, advocate claim.

But the property’s owner Bob Facciola posted notices on June 15th on a fence surrounding the property telling the homeless they needed to leave the lot so it can be prepared to be sold.

Facciola also says he is concerned about the wildfire dangers presented by the mounds of garbage generated by the encampment. The lot is adjacent to homes, power lines and old greenhouses.

Nearly two years ago, a woman living in a cave dug into the side of a rise died in a blaze when a campfire set the dry grasses ablaze, he told the Palo Alto Daily.

"It's a liability. They're lighting fires at night," he told the paper.

Located in the city's Ravenswood Business District redevelopment zone, the 30-acre field is surrounded by other planned developments -- including Tara Road, a 4.9-acre and a 41,000-square-foot industrial condominium development.

Facciola told the paper that about 12 acres of his property was buildable and was in escrow for $20 million until about two months ago.

However, the planned builder pulled out of the deal.