An assessment counted 201 tents and estimate of more than 400 people in the area prior to a shooting on January 26, 2016, that increased scrutiny and a sweep of the greenspace.

[6][7] A survey conducted by the city of Seattle and the United Gospel Mission later in the year determined 111 people remained in The Jungle even after multiple attempts to close the encampment.

[11] Seattle's organized tent cities for the homeless are offshoots of illegal communities that formed after squatters were forcibly removed from The Jungle.

Other deaths include transients struck by vehicles while attempting to cross the nearby freeways, and even a homeless man sleeping in a blackberry thicket as it was mowed by workers.

[21] Weapons, used drug paraphernalia, potentially stolen goods, and human feces were, and continue to be, seen often during the city and state sweeps.

[22] In April 2015, police arrested 20 suspects during a series of raids, including Son Van Tran, who Federal prosecutors described as a "boss"[23] in the local drug market.

[27] In February, 2016, the Washington State Legislature proposed $1 million to install a 8,000-foot-long (2,400 m), 6-foot-high (1.8 m) razor wire and barbed-wire fence to encircle the 100-acre (40 ha) area.

[28] On May 17, 2016, the city of Seattle and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) announced plans to permanently clear out The Jungle, with the estimated 300 remaining people living there to be resettled by the Union Gospel Mission.