In conclusion
As temperatures in the desert are expected to reach close to 115 degrees, GoFundMe.org has partnered with a non-profit organization in the Inland Empire to provide air conditioners and water and air purifiers to those in need.
Greetings from CalMatters, the only nonprofit news organization dedicated exclusively to reporting on topics that impact all Californians. Get a weekly glance at how people in the I.E. are living, learning, and working by subscribing to The Inland Empire newsletter.
A neighborhood organization is assisting locals in the hottest regions of the desert in coping with the intense heat as the Inland Empire prepares for an extreme heat warning this week.
Through a weather resilience initiative started by GoFundMe.org, the group Comit Civico del Valle has given water purifiers, air conditioners, and air purifiers to homes in the Salton Sea area.
At a press conference last week, Luis Olmedo, executive director of Comit Civico del Valle, stated that this program is about justice, safety, and dignity for our inhabitants. It goes beyond simply distributing equipment. It’s about ensuring that when excessive heat occurs, vulnerable residents—particularly elderly people, those with medical issues, and low-income families—are not left behind.
With temperatures predicted to reach 106 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit this week, the National Weather Service is issuing a warning of extreme weather conditions in inland desert areas. It said that the weather will be extremely hot and that there would be a significant risk of heat-related ailments such heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and cramping.
However, desert settlements in eastern Riverside and Imperial County typically experience triple-digit summer temperatures.
Additionally, older dwellings lack the necessary safeguards against those circumstances. According to Esther Bejarano, the organization’s head of health programs, many families reside in mobile homes, including dilapidated, uninsulated aluminum trailers that feel like they’re living inside a can.
Imagine having a window unit that doesn’t work to cool your house while you live in a trailer that’s thirty or forty years old, she said.
Imperial County had the highest rate of heat-related ER visits in the state in 2022, with almost 100 visits per 100,000 population. Eleven fatalities and 196 heat-related medical events were reported in the county last year. There have been 65 recorded illnesses so far this year, but no fatalities.
In 2024, 1,627 ER visits and 65 heat-related deaths occurred in neighboring Riverside County, which also includes portions of the Salton Sea. This year, there were 550 heat-related ED visits and two fatalities.
In order to mitigate those risks, GoFundMe.org launched a test initiative. In order to supply the devices to those without air filtration or cooling systems or who were unable to pay for their use, it gave Comit Civico del Valle half a million dollars.
I knew people who lived in trailers, which are manufactured dwellings. “They didn’t have air conditioning, so they had to go to the Circle K, the Arco, or the public library to cool off,” said 72-year-old Brawley resident Rodrigo Palma, who was assisted by the initiative.
The objective was to install modern cooling systems for 100 families. According to Amanda Brown Lehrman, executive director of GoFundMe.org, the initiative has so far erected 72 cooling systems, 389 air purifiers, and four reverse osmosis water filters.
According to Lehrman, these interventions give families the means to safeguard their health and deal with day-to-day difficulties a little more consistently and reasonably, but they do not take the place of systemic change.
According to Bejarano, there were some problems with the weather resilience program. According to her, the ductless cooling systems, known as mini-split air conditioners, are made to swiftly and effectively chill individual rooms.
“If they do have an air conditioner, they can’t afford to turn it on to cool the entire house, so they’ve been very popular and sales have skyrocketed,” she added.
Permits, however, might cost up to $900 per unit, according to contractors hired to install them, she added.
The extremely high cost of permits for these homes and families that need them the most has presented several challenges, she said. We need to work on policies around that.
READ NEXT
3 things I learned while interning at CalMatters that every journalism student should know
As heat soars in the Inland Empire, a community group steps up to save lives
CalMatters has further information.
Text
Receive breaking news on your mobile device.
Get it here
Use our app to stay up to date.
Register
Get free updates delivered straight to your inbox.
Nonpartisan, independent California news for all
CalMatters is your impartial, nonprofit news source.
Our goal remains crucial, and our journalists are here to empower you.
-
We are independent and nonpartisan.
Our trustworthy journalism is free from partisan politics, free from corporate influence and actually free for all Californians. -
We are focused on California issues.
From the environment to homelessness, economy and more, we publish the unfettered truth to keep you informed. -
We hold people in power accountable.
We probe and reveal the actions and inactions of powerful people and institutions, and the consequences that follow.
However, without the help of readers like you, we are unable to continue.
Give what you can now, please. Every gift makes a difference.
