With limited options, L.A.'s RV encampment residents confront a heat wave - Los Angeles Times
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With limited options, L.A.’s RV encampment residents confront a heat wave

An RV encampment
An RV encampment along Jefferson Boulevard in Marina Del Rey last year.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Good morning. It’s Friday, Oct. 6. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

  • RV encampment residents struggle to fight the heat
  • Ex-USC gynecologist accused of sexual abuse was found dead
  • 12 iconic L.A. film and TV horror homes
  • And here’s today’s e-newspaper

High temperatures hit L.A.’s RV encampments hard

It’s supposed to reach the triple digits this weekend in Los Angeles. Jose Gonzales knows it will be a tough few days — he and his wife live in an RV along 1st Street in Boyle Heights.

“We open the windows but the thing is because there’s a lot of traffic going by, it picks up a lot of dust,” Gonzales told me. He keeps the windows facing the road closed, even though it can be suffocating. When the sun shifts, he unrolls the outside tarp to add more shade.

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Officials across Southern California are trying to crack down on RV encampments that bloomed during the pandemic, amid complaints from neighbors. But stable housing remains elusive for many encampment residents and yet another heat wave is underscoring just how brutal the wait can be for those without homes.

As my colleagues Rachel Uranga and Paloma Esquivel reported recently, many RV dwellers are waiting on Section 8 housing voucher applications as they navigate a labyrinth of alternative options.

RV encampments have proliferated on the streets of Los Angeles since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, met with mixed reviews from neighbors. Last year in April, the Los Angeles City Council voted to lift a towing moratorium after growing complaints from residents about waste disposal and drug usage by RV dwellers. The council recently also backed efforts to regulate RV rentals to homeless populations and is considering restricting RV parking around schools and homes.

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But for many city residents who may not be able to afford rental units, RVs provide a community and home, if an imperfect one as temperatures soar.

During the pandemic, Gonzales’ wife lost her part-time job, leaving the warehouse worker as the only income earner in their household. When they tried to apply for an apartment, their income was not enough for rent, leading to the choice of an RV for the last two and a half years.

Although he has a working air conditioning, Gonzales says that keeping it on drains the battery. He tries to keep his generator rumbling for about four hours maximum during the day. When they run out of options, he and his wife sometimes walk outside toward the park, where the air flows better.

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Not everyone is blessed with a working generator though. And keeping your RV cool and still keeping other appliances going may force a short circuit. He keeps two fire extinguishers inside his home, just in case

Numerous fires have burned through RV encampments, some allegedly due to arson, while others have been sparked by residents trying to keep warm. Gonzales said he keeps a watch on his neighbor’s RV.

Down the street, Anselmo Villarreal sat inside his A/C-less RV on Thursday with the windows down, his shirt off. His head was covered in beads of sweat.

“Right now, I was just going to take a bath to open myself up,” Villarreal said to me. He relies on showers to keep cool. Sometimes he avoids staying inside the RV altogether, occupying himself with work during the day and arriving back at night.

A few vehicles away, another couple cleaned a refrigerator with a bucket of water, splashing droplets on their heads to cool down. Water helps sweat to evaporate.

Gonzales also increases his showering frequency in the heat, but even that comes with a cost. He must empty out what he calls “gray water” every two weeks, instead of the usual three, for $30 at the Pico Rivera RV storage, where he can legally dump waste.

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The ultimate cooling solution may just be to sit outside. As the RVs became too suffocating, Gonzales said he’ll pull up chairs with his peers along the street.

“We parked here, and we parked over there. And that’s our home because that’s where we’re at,” he said.

Today’s top stories

Two men wear dark jackets wear face masks. The man on the right is behind a clear shield while holding a piece of paper.
George Tyndall, right, USC’s former longtime campus gynecologist, was found dead at his L.A. condo.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

George Tyndall was found dead

Behind the arrest in Tupac’s killing

The Dodgers first playoff game is Saturday

Dianne Feinstein was laid to rest

The latest in politics

More big stories


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Commentary and opinions

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Today’s great reads

Jon Knight addresses the Shasta County Board of Supervisors in September 2023.
(Shasta County Board of Supervisors)

‘Flying syringes’ and conspiracies: The far-right battle for a mosquito control board. The Shasta County Board of Supervisors appointed Jon Knight to a mosquito control board even after he said that Bill Gates had helped unleash genetically modified mosquitoes in California and he warned about “flying syringes that will mass vaccinate the population.”

Other great reads


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For your downtime

A photo collage of houses from the list with a blinking "Bates Motel" sign and a large knife.
A photo collage of houses from the list of iconic L.A. film and TV horror homes.
(Los Angeles Times illustration; photos by Adam Tschorn / Los Angeles Times; Getty Images)

Going out

Staying in

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And finally ... a great photo

Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they’re important to you.

A walkway along a cliff
(David Hayashida)

Today’s great photo is from David Hayashida of Greenbrae, Calif.: The Muir Beach Overlook. Hayashida writes: On a clear fall day, you can see migrating whales as the sun sets to the west, miles of pristine coastline and Point Reyes to the north, historic Muir Beach and San Francisco to the south, and the rugged Mount Tamalpais State Park to the east, all while peregrine falcons and other raptors soar overhead.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Helen Li, reporting fellow
Elvia Limón, multiplatform editor
Laura Blasey, assistant editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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