'cool centers' take the simmer out of summer - air and water swamp cooler
by:HICOOL
2019-07-27
Worked hard all day in the pepper field, sultry
Uralia Solis, a farm worker, came home with a trailer, and the over-working swamp cooler of the trailer provided only a hint of comfort.
She can't afford an air conditioner, and even if she can afford it, the wire in the trailer park can't provide enough power to the window unit.
To cool down, the family gathered on the sofa next to the swamp cooler ---a low-
Budget alternatives for A/c-
It roosts in the window, blowing air saturated with water vapor.
"What else would you do besides tolerating it?
Asked Solis, 30, who has lived in the Sonoma desert city for two years.
For migrant workers like Solis, summer is unbearable, and in some rare cases, even fatal.
To help residents who are forced to endure the heat, this month, Riverside and San Bernardino County opened shelters in youth, old age and community centers, offering water and snacks, and providing cool breaks
Lupe Pinedo, 64, had heard of the "cool center" but said they never did anything good for her.
She does not drive.
In the 40 years in the Cochella Valley, Pinedo jumped from one trailer park to another, saying she was too familiar with the unfamiliar Parkso-
Cool relief from the swamp cooler.
When she moved to the air last year, things changed.
Conditional trailer in nearby Mecca.
Although she welcomes herself to stay away from the heat, she now has to deal with another issue: cost.
During the summer months, Pinedo paid nearly $300 in electricity bills, mainly for running air conditioners.
Between this and the $255 rent for her trailer space, she does not have much of the late husband's $687 monthly pension left to food and other utilities.
She used to live in a trailer with a swamp cooler and paid about $250 a month for rent and utilities.
"This is the way people live here, just barely get by," Pinedo said . ".
"That's why people stay where they are because they don't have the money to buy something better.
"Those who bear the brunt of the heat and lack of shelter ---
Children and the elderly in particular-
Susceptible to high temperature
Public health officials say the disease is related.
In 2003, the Riverside County recorded a high temperature, which is the statistics of the last year.
51 deaths and hospital stays.
In San Bernardino County, 5 people died of heat exposure and 47 were hospitalized.
Eric fleecman, health officer at San Bernardino County public health department, said death from heatstroke and heatstroke in the county occurred to a very small extent.
"We're used to 105 here-
"The temperature has reached a certain level," he said.
"Most people know how to deal with it.
"Nevertheless, when temperatures are expected to reach 105 degrees for at least three consecutive days, the Public Health Department calls for the launch of their cooling center.
Riverside County has centers in Beaumont, Braith, Cathedral City, Cochella, Corona, Desert Springs, Hemet, Jurupa, Palm Springs and Perris.
Residents of San Bernardino County are available in Clermont, Highlands, Joshua Tree, Loma Linda, Lucerne Valley, Rancho Mirage, Redlands, Rialto and
"They save both energy and money," said Alida Plascencia, executive assistant to the Community Action Partnership, which provides utilities assistance to low-income people.
Income households.
45-year-old Araceli Ramirez, who has never heard of a cool shelter, said her family usually beat the heat by making half over the weekend
Indian fashion mall is an hour's drive away.
It was not until this month that the Ramires moved to another trailer park. -
There is also a home with air conditioning.
Outside their old trailer, they left her 3-year-
The old son was blocked from the sun by a white sheet.
A swamp cooler was abandoned on the deck.
Ramires, like pine do, is worried that money will become a problem for her new home.
"Our way of life is going to get better, but it will be more difficult to pay bills," said Ramires . " Ramires works in the vineyard with her husband.
"We will have to get a second job, which means we will spend less time with the kids.
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