Elaborate Homeless Camp Discovered In Palm Springs

City maintenance workers Juan Lira and Ritchie Hartsock have a big cleanup ahead of them after an elaborate homeless village was discovered in the middle of the Whitewater wash.

Firefighters who responded to a report of smoke coming from the wash area near the Cimmaron Golf Course in Palm Springs early Tuesday morning arrived to find someone heating up coffee over a homemade stove.

In all, fire crews said they found a half-dozen camps in one area.

One of the structures was called “the mansion.” It was made of wood shingles collected by the homeless resident. It housed two rooms: a bedroom and a washroom. It was decorated with windmills outside and had a cobblestone walkway.

Another camp was located six to eight feet underground.

“I’m impressed,” said Hartsock. “They’ve spent some time on this.”

Investigators who arrived later in the morning said the people who lived there were day laborers who can’t find steady work or afford a place to live. By law, Palm Springs city crews now have to tear down their prized homes, including “the mansion.”

“We can’t leave it here,” maintenance supervisor George Herrera said. “It’s an eyesore. If we have a flood come through here, this debris will be washing through the washes.”

Herrera said the cleanup could take a week.

Unexpectedly, the mansion’s owner, Luis Gutierrez, showed up.

“We don’t have a place to go,” he said. “We can’t afford an apartment. No jobs right now. Nothing we can do. Where else can we go?”

Gutierrez, a builder by trade, said he built his mansion using wood shingles someone dumped in the wash. He bought the nails and tools from a 99 Cent Only store.

“I’m really upset. More than a year working [on] this house, and everything’s come down.”

News Channel 3 asked Carlos Beena, 33, where he was going to stay tonight.

“I don’t know,” he said. “We have to look. My friends say: to another bridge.”