Fire damages construction equipment near planned 'Cop City' in DeKalb County

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.