CRAB Park residents hunker down as extreme winter weather blankets camp

It's 8 C at Vancouver's CRAB Park tent city, andDavid Bradbury is using a broom to clear snow off the roof of the kitchen tent.

Bradbury has been living at the park for about nine months. His tent is set up right next to the kitchen.

He has assumed the role of camp cook,initially proving himself by his account with regular French toast breakfasts for as many as 50 people some mornings.

Now, there are about 20 people regularly living on site, and the tents and make-shift structures are covered witha thick blanket of snow.

With sustained temperatureswell below freezing, Bradbury is trying to help keep people warm by cooking soups andbroths, or whatever he can prepare with the ingredients donated by the broader community.

"Well it's pretty tough here right now we have no electricity. It's hard to get deliveries in here from people who like to help out," he saidon Wednesday, the shortest day of the year.

"You have to all bundle together and we're all on battery-operated lights and propane stoves so we can have heat and cook and eat," said Bradbury."So yeah, it's pretty rough right now."

No electricity

In January, a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled that eviction notices from the Vancouver Park Board weren't adequately justified and residents in the camp could stay.

The Park Board had been providing electricity. A recent Vancouver Sun story detailed how the camp relied on a single outlet, with a network of extension cords supplying power.

However, Bradbury said that power had been cut off a week or two ago, leaving residents in the dark during the most extreme winter conditions they've experienced at CRAB Park.

"You don't cut off power, for people in need, in the freezing cold," he said.

"It's freezing cold, and if you don't have the basic needs, you're going to die."

Fiona York, who works as a volunteer advocate for the camp residents, said the Park Board indicated it was working on restoring power.

In an email statement, the Park Board saidelectricians with the city haddiscovered "the power transformer and circuit breaker supplying power to the electrical outlet at CRAB Park had been vandalized.

"Someone attempted to bypass the circuit breaker resulting in major and potentially life-threatening electrical hazards," the statement reads.

The Park Board said they are working on repairs.

Camp residents relying on donations

York saidresidents rely on support from donors, and most shelters are full this time of year, leaving them nowhere else to go to stay warm.

"People need to have access to the sheltering space here," said York, adding that she thinks about 40 people are using the camp, though many come and go.

She's involved in organizing a fundraiser online called "Christmas for CRAB Park Tent City," but York also encourages people to drop off donations, including blankets, tarps, sleeping bags and cold weather gear at CRAB Park.

Meanwhile, Bradbury and his fellow tent city residents are helping each other out, swapping tips for how to insulate tents with the resources they can muster.

"We just check and make sure everybody's OK, and where everyone gathers in the warm-up tent to stay warm and dry, we make sure everybody's fed and full, and no cuts and bruises, stuff like that," he said.

"We just take care of each other, like family, you know?"