Ted Ancona and his wife, Valerie Mathews, have driven their 24 -foot recreational vehicle on summer trip to the Eastern mountains of Sierra Nevada and Albuquerque, where Ancona was born. Now, after the couple lost their home in Altadena in the fire of Eaton, the rolling house is giving them a lifeguard.
“This is our house,” said Ancona, 73, sitting at a wooden picnic table outside the rolling house in a San Dimas camp. “This is the house we have left.”
Ancona and Mathews, 71, escaped from the fire with photographs that grabbed the walls and with their mestizo tigrada Callie, 14 years old. Ancona left in his truck and Mathews took the steering wheel of the rolling house.
After a couple of nights in the Rose Bowl parking lot, Ancona and Mathews found a place in Bonelli Bluffs RV Resort and Campground, located in a County Park. They have been grateful to escape from the punishing real estate market of Los Angeles, where thousands of families expelled by the fires of Eaton and Palisades have found Price increase, Offers wars and Housing shortage available.
But after almost three weeks at the camp, the couple faces the deadline on Wednesday to leave. The complex prohibits long -term stays.
“Panic has been invading while trying to discover where we can go,” said Mathews.
The experience of Ancona and Mathews highlights the set of restrictions that can prevent displaced families from finding places to reside while waiting for reconstruction or looking for a permanent home elsewhere. The logic of the rules established before the fires, such as allowing more people to access recreational areas, has less influence now.
Rob Sagginario, general manager of the private operator of the Park of Casas Rodantes, said he had his hands tied because the time limit is written in his lease with the county. He said the park houses several victims of forest fires.
Los Angeles County leaders say they are aware of the problem and plan to act before the Ancona and Mathews departure date. On Tuesday, county supervisors are scheduled to vote on a measure to lift the limits to the stays in the two parks of rolling houses on the grounds owned by the emergency, Bonelli Bluffs and one in Dockweiler State Beach. The latter was closed this month for annual maintenance, but will reopen in February.
“We are committed to providing attention and support to our residents where they are, now and during our recovery of these devastating fires,” said Lindsey Horvath supervisor, who represents Pacific Palisades and the surrounding areas, including DockWeiler. Horvath is co -author of the measure that lifts the restrictions of time in the two parks with the supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Altadena and San Dimas.
Ted Ancona holds a piece of ceramics that he and his wife were able to rescue from the debris of his 40 -year -old house that was destroyed by Eaton's fire.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
But the county action does not extend to the most numerous parks of rolling houses of private property, some of which have similar restrictions on how long people can remain there. Daniel Weisfield owns off the grid, a 108 lots rolling house park in Lake Hughes, and the permissions limits of his county do not exceed three weeks. Weisfield said he asked the county officials to renounce the rule, but was rejected.
“I don't see any justification for not allowing people to stay in our park,” said Weisfield. “We have ready and available spaces for people who lost their homes and the county literally tells us not.”
Susan Tae, deputy deputy director of the Regional County Planning Department, said that off the Grid is in a very high risk fire zone and the arrow parks in these areas have rules that limit the duration of the stay.
“We continue to explore many ways to help those affected by fires,” Tae said. “However, these must be in balance with the guarantee of long -term public health and safety for all county residents.”
Barger, whose district includes Lake Hughes, said he could consider the possibility of writing a separate proposal to also lift time restrictions for private parks of recreational vehicles, given the housing needs of displaced residents.
“I want to explore all the potential solutions and I will take advantage of the collective experience of our leaders of the Los Angeles County Department to determine what can be done to offer as many possibilities as possible,” Barger said.
Ancona and Mathews hope to get a break. For now, San Dimas is the best place to be. He is close to his old house, near Mathews's brother who lives in Brea and allows Mathews to program physiotherapy quotes previously scheduled in Pasadena to repair a fracture in the right arm.
The couple plans to rebuild in Altadena. The house has belonged to his family since 1957, when Mathews was 4 years old. Five weddings of friends and family were held in the front garden. They left behind a collection of 10 cars, photo albums and family relics that had belonged to their families for generations.
While waiting for the rubble, Ancona and Mathews to travel to San Francisco to keep their daughter, who waits for her fourth grandson.
But they believe that spending a few more weeks in the camp will help them recover.
“I haven't even canceled all my public services still,” Mathews said. “Time is limited. You talk on the phone and you are waiting for hours. At five in the afternoon I can't think. ”
