The vivid symbolism of Sacramento’s tent city

Preston Anderson, 57, makes his way through his tent city campsite as his dog, Puppy, keeps a watchful eye out for visitors near the American River. The chronic homeless such as Anderson make up the largest percentage of residents of the encampment, but a smaller group of people who recently lost their jobs are now living there.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Robert Howard Bennett, 40, who used to repair air conditioners, makes his way through tent city, which sprawls messily beneath power lines above a grassed-over landfill.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Jackie Dickens stands next to her tent, which flies the American flag. Sacramento city officials who had more or less ignored the camp announced Thursday that they plan to shut it down within a month.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Tent city resident Michael Elliott, 52, of Sacramento cuts up cardboard for his fire. Elliott, who quit his job as a truck driver, is taking classes at a nearby school to become a sports umpire.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Patricia, who gave only her first name, places blankets outside her tent to be dried by the sun.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Sister Libby Fernandez, executive director of the homeless support group Loaves & Fishes, leads a group discussion with tent city residents about getting portable toilets.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Gennadiy Petrovich Tomashov, 57, prepares soup over an open fire. Tomashov, a homeless truck driver, has been living in tent city for the last eight months.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Tomashov takes a sip of his soup. He, like many others at the encampment, recently lost his job because of the economic downturn.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Tomashov peels a potato for his dinner. Although tent city has been here for more than a year, in the last three weeks it has become a vivid symbol of a financial crisis otherwise invisible to most Americans.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Jeff Staal, 38, puts up his new tent along the American River. Staal and his wife, Louise, have been living in tent city for the last week since they lost their apartment. Retired stockbroker Adam Smith brought dozens of tents for the homeless on Monday.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Homeless truck driver Michael Elliott, 52, center, and his friend Steve, left, collect firewood donated to tent city residents by Arthur McDonald.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Renee Hadley sits on her bed inside her tent near the American River. Hadley, a onetime homeless advocate in Seattle, has been living in the Sacramento encampment for the last eight months.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

A homeless man looks out over tent city as the sun sets in Sacramento.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Charly Hine, 38, foregound, and CeCe Walker, 49, make their way down a path to their tents. Walker has been living in a tent since January and Hine since Valentine’s Day, when her boyfriend kicked her out of his apartment.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Jackie Dickens, right, receives a hug of support from Renee Hadley. Both of them have been living in tent city for the last year.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Steve looks out over tent city as storm clouds gather above the makeshift community. The Great Depression had Hoovervilles. The energy crisis of the 1970s had snaking gas lines. But today’s deep recession is largely about disappearing wealth -- painful, yes, but difficult to see.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)