BENTON -- Some people in Benton are scrambling to find a new place to live after their apartment complex was condemned due to bedbugs.
The families were given only 48 hours to find a new place to live after they were told their apartment complex is infested with bedbugs
On Friday, Columbia County officials scrambled to find those residents new homes.
Close to a dozen families were told that they have until midnight Friday night to get out of the building because it is infested with bedbugs.
We spoke with the building's owner as well as Columbia County officials who say they are doing everything they can to make sure everyone has a place to live.
Some people who live at the Hotel Hess building in Benton packed up their belongings and moved out.
Eugene Eckroth works night shift and just found out he only had a few hours to move out of the building he called home for the last 14 years.
"They just told me today I have to be out in a couple of hours," said Eckroth. "I'll think of something."
Columbia County housing officials say there are several code violations in addition to the bedbugs and the tenants need to get out by midnight. That's at least 10 families.
"Trying to find a count now of how many we have, the resources they have, do they have a place to go, do they have family members, or do they have nowhere to go? That's really what we're trying to identify," said Columbia County Housing Authority director Rich Kisner.
Kisner was at the Hotel Hess for most of the day trying to find the residents places to stay. He says he reached out to the Red Cross, churches, and veterans organizations and his staff is consulting with bedbug experts.
"Never [had] a condemnation on such short notice with so many tenants."
The building's owner Jacob Hittle was also at the building. He says he realized a few days ago there were be bugs in the building and sprayed. He says he is shopping around for low prices to treat the bugs.
Some residents say they were able to find a place to go while other residents tell Newswatch 16 they're having major problems finding a new place to live.
"[My family] don't want to take me in because of the bedbugs," Eckroth said.
"There's still a lot to learn about what's going to happen in the long run. Right now we're just trying to find where people are going to go for the weekend," Kisner said.
When we left the Hotel Hess all but one of the residents had been placed in temporary housing. The Columbia County Housing Authority director says the building has other code violations and he will never let people live in the building again under these conditions.