PORTLAND, Ore. — The heat stuck to David Bentley like glue. Homeless on Portland’s Central Eastside, he soaked an old red T-shirt in his limited water supply to wash the dirt and sweat from his arms.
“I’m not trying to always put off that image that we live in dirt,” he said. His hands remained stained with black grime as he moved carts loaded with blankets and rugs to his next campsite.
He's been in a race against the clock since his campsite under the I-84 ramp was posted for removal Friday, leaving him with at least three days to move.
“You're making people move their stuff no matter what the weather. We’re exhausting ourselves just so you can come along and push us around and take our stuff some more,” he said of Rapid Response, the company hired by the city of Portland to clear illegal campsites.
Bentley is worried about saving his belongings instead of staying cool on a day when triple-digit temperatures scorch Portland.
RELATED: 'Go inside or find shade': Paramedics urge people to be cautious in looming heat wave in Portland
Across the river in Old Town, staff from Blanchet House, a day center and shelter for homeless people, hand out ice-cold bottles of water to make life on the streets a little easier.
“We shouldn't take any action that isn't helping people survive during this extreme period of heat,” said Blanchet House executive director Scott Kerman.
He’s now calling on the city to stop clearing homeless camps like Bentley’s during this week’s heat wave.
“I know there's a lot of energy right now in our community, whether it's sweeps or the camping ban, for there to be something done about unsanctioned camping. If you feel that way, this is not the time for it. This is a time when sweeping people, moving them out of their space, could actually be deadly,” Kerman said.
RELATED: How have things changed since Portland passed its daytime ban on homeless camps?
Mayor Ted Wheeler’s office told KGW on Monday that camp removals are currently on pause due to the excessive heat warning, which also prompted the mayor to declare a state of emergency that ends on Friday.
“I don't want to die out here you know … I don't want to die just another homeless guy, just another number,” said Bentley. Unaware of the pause on camp removals, he's already committed to moving his camp elsewhere.
The mayor’s office told KGW that the crews who normally clear homeless camps are instead handing out water and other cooling supplies to homeless people, along with encouraging them to go inside. Multnomah County has opened three daytime cooling centers, and the mayor's office gestured to the city's new "Temporary Alternative Shelter Site" in Southeast, which will eventually hold about 250 people in air-conditioned pods. It's unclear how many people the site currently houses, and potential residents of the shelter site must be referred by a city outreach team.