With limited options, L.A.’s RV encampment residents confront a heat wave

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

• The ex-USC gynecologist accused of sexual abuse was discovered in bed by a friend who had been unable to reach him.
• Tyndall was set to stand trial next year.
• Read our 2018 investigation: How George Tyndall went from USC gynecologist to the center of LAPD’s largest-ever sex abuse investigation

Behind the arrest in Tupac’s killing

• Tupac Shakur’s killing brought ‘10 days of hell’ to Compton. The bloodshed helped crack the case.
• Why it took 27 years for an arrest in Shakur’s Las Vegas killing.

The Dodgers first playoff game is Saturday

• Julio Urías was a hero and likely Dodgers Game 1 starter. Now, it’s as if he never existed.
• Can the team’s patchwork pitching staff sustain a deep playoff run?
• Nine concerns the Dodgers should have about facing the Diamondbacks in the NLDS.
• How Dave Roberts had his ‘most exciting’ season as manager of the Dodgers.

Dianne Feinstein was laid to rest

• The service befitted a monarch. But the memorial was also a homecoming and farewell from those who knew her best.
• Photos: San Francisco pays tribute.
• Feinstein’s political life came full circle at the grand San Francisco memorial

The latest in politics

• A Los Angeles City Council’s reform committee endorsed a detailed plan to take redistricting out of the hands of the council. But they postponed action on council expansion once again.
• In a second week of high-level talks, U.S. and Mexican officials cover familiar territory: immigration and drugs.
• Sensei Schwarzenegger? The Governator attempts a reboot with a pallid self-help book.
• Tensions over the Armenian crisis in Azerbaijan boil over in a reportedly violent protest at USC.

More big stories

• Southern California is in an unseasonably warm heat wave. How hot could it get where you are?
• No big winner yet. What are your odds of winning the next Powerball jackpot of $1.4 billion?
• A California high school football team refuses to play against girls, even after settling a Title IX lawsuit.
• The surprising source of a million-dollar Pomona College scholarship fund: The school’s beloved registrar.
• His bar was the site of a mass shooting. The community rallied around him. This week he was convicted of stealing funds from a local music festival.

Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here.

Commentary and opinions

• Bill Shaikin: The Dodgers could learn a thing or two on mass transit from the Hollywood Bowl.
• Carolina Miranda: A new study shows museum workers struggling. We need to evolve to meet the moment.
• Op-ed: This wildfire season, there’s another terrifying threat to worry about.
• Editorial Board: You’re already drinking dinosaur pee. So don’t be afraid of recycled wastewater.
• Gustavo Arellano: A year after the City Hall tape leak, where will Latino political power in L.A. go?

Today’s great reads

(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

• How L.A. really made the internet what it is.

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.

For your downtime

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

• 👻 Get scary-close to 12 iconic L.A. film and TV horror homes.
• 🏜️Death Valley probably will reopen Oct. 15. Here’s what travelers need to know.
• 🍿 Kitty Green’s ‘The Royal Hotel’ refuses to play by the rules of horror.
• 🤡 The Crow offers comedy classes for cancer patients

Staying in

• 📺 Five animated shows worth catching up on.
• ⚾ The Dodgers are in the playoffs. Here are the schedules, start times, betting odds and off days
• 🦀 Here’s a recipe for classic crab rangoons with plum sauce (and while you’re at it, learn about some other mid-century appetizers).
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

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.

(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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