Technically, you do not need to remove the whole assembly. You *can* just pop the mirrors off. Since you're in SoCal, you can probably get away with that, with the warm weather keeping things flexible. The back of the mirror has a fixed round plastic ring (about 4" in diameter) with 4 clips that attach it to another ring in the mirror housing.
Angle the mirror so that you can get at least two fingers behind the bottom or top middle edge of the glass, and then pop it out. Be careful to apply even pressure, and remember that the wires for the heater are still attached to the glass. The wires will unplug easily once the glass is disengaged. Installation is reverse - don't forget to connect the heater wires! I had to pinch the terminals on the wires a bit for them to have a firm bite on the contacts of the new glass.
Doing mine, I decided to remove the body coloured cover to have easier access and minimize the risk of breaking delicate plastic bits. More difficult to explain than it is to do... Still only a 10 min job.
I have some pics; I'll post them tonight or tomorrow.