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As it happens6:02 a.mAs LA faces first blizzard in 34 years, race supporters turn crowds onto streets
California may be known for its Hollywood glamor and sunny climate, but people freeze to death on the streets of Los Angeles every year. And that was before the winter blizzard hit the city this week.
“It’s extremely cold, especially for Southern California. It gets to the point where you can’t feel your fingers,” Andy Bales, president of the Union Rescue Mission in LA, told A.s It Happened hosted by Nil Koksal.
“To think that there are people out on these streets right now is terrifying.”
LA is now under threat of its first blizzard in 34 years, as a winter storm hits parts of the United States.
The National Weather Service is warning of a “cold and dangerous winter storm” that will continue through Saturday in California. A blizzard warning is in place for the Sierra Nevada mountains and Southern California, where 1.5 meters of snow is expected.
In Southern California, the latest storm began moving in Thursday with rain and snow. Flood watches and warnings are in effect until Saturday evening for some coastal and valley areas.
Officials also warned that excessive rain could cause landslides especially in areas that have been burned in recent years.
Put him in a hotel
That’s bad news for LA County more than 69,000 people are homeless.
Already, Union Rescue Mission’s 1,350 beds are full. However, Bales has spent the past three days on local news broadcasts pleading not to sleep outside.
“I told everyone my phone number – my personal phone number – and said that if they don’t have capacity in the mission, they will be put in a hotel,” he said. “And people judge me for it.”
Since his first TV appearance on Monday night, he said he has received 49 calls.
“I dread to think how many people die even as I speak. And it is not a pleasant death. Death from hypothermia is a great suffering,” he said.
He’s not being hyperbolic. The temperature does not need to drop below zero to kill.
Without proper clothing or shelter, a person can experience hypothermia at temperatures of 10 C, according to the US National Weather Service. That’s the temperature in LA on Saturday afternoon.
According to a 2019 report by the LA Timesmore people die in the city from hypothermia and cold exposure than San Francisco and New York City combined.
At least 14 people froze to death on the streets of LA last year, according to the Guardian.
Terry Stephen lives in a trailer with his son and his girlfriend in Palmdale, California, just north of LA He told the Times he was temporarily placed in a hotel room in the north-east of the city after the horror on Wednesday night.
“It’s cold, your bones hurt and you can’t keep warm,” he said. “I had three blankets on me last night and I was still freezing. Nothing helped.”
Hope on the horizon
LA County has opened dozens of warming centers in light of the weather. And the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority announced that 143 new shelter beds will be available by the end of March as part of the city’s new Winter Shelter Program.
Bales said the move was long overdue. But he has hope for the future, he said.
On her first day in office in December, LA Mayor Karen Bass declared a state of emergency to address the city’s homeless crisis, and laid out plans to house 17,000 people in the first year in a mix of interim and permanent facilities.
“I was encouraged for the first time in my 18 years in Los Angeles,” Bales said.
But that’s long term. In the here and now, he’s just focused on getting people out of the storm.
“We cannot live thinking about the human being left on the streets,” he said. “We are ready to rent as many hotel rooms as possible.”
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