Homeless Encampment Cooking Fire In Temescal Canyon Sparks Cleanup

City officials cleaned up the fenced park area on Temescal Canyon Rd. near the stormwater project site last week after firefighters quickly extinguished a cooking fire started in a group of homeless encampments.

On Friday morning, July 18, Los Angeles Police Department, Department of Animal Services, Department of Sanitation and Los Angeles Conservation Corps representatives cleaned up approximately nine homeless encampments in that area, according to City Councilmember Mike Bonin’s office.

According to Ernesto Garcia, compliance inspector for the Department of Sanitation, a cooking incident earlier in the week, possibly involving a Hibachi grill, caused a prompt response from firefighters. Friday was the second day of debris clean up, and several transients sat around the park as workers did their jobs.

Garcia said they removed approximately two tons of garbage and debris, such as metal rods, bike frames, mattresses, comforters and other home living items. He said the fire never spread, but it was lit around what he described as a “mountain of trash.” Five butane containers were recovered during the clean up.

“They’re very nice,” Garcia said about the homeless being asked to move from the area near the cooking fire.

Whether or not the city will take any further action with the homeless staying on the city property is yet to be seen.

Visible pathways to shrubs and brush all along the north and south sides of Temescal Canyon Road have been known for years as a place where homeless come to stay. Public safety concerns from residents continue to be addressed.

Maricela Bautista, who was picking up trash with other Conservation Corps volunteers, said they would not have to come back Saturday if they worked fast. She said the homeless were civil with the volunteers.

During the cleanup, Michael Kyllingstad sat under a tree near the Temecal Canyon park picnic tables surrounded by his belongings, including some of his own artwork. He said he was a former plumber in Beverly Hills but has been unemployed and living in the Temescal Canyon area for the “last six months to a year.”

He told the Post he saw the fire begin after a fight broke out among others in the encampment. He added that police and city officials were “very civil.”

When asked if officials had come back to ask him about staying on city property, Kyllingstad said, “The city’s said nothing as of now.”