JOSH EDELSON / AFP
Aerial view of homes burned during the fire near the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles, January 9, 2025.
INTERNATIONAL – Contingency measure. In addition to the immense damage caused by the fires which have continued to ravage Los Angeles for three days, the authorities must now force residents to follow a curfew, once night falls, in the burned and evacuated areas.
This Friday, January 10, the decision to impose a nighttime curfew (from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.) proved essential in the disaster areas to put an end to the looting of abandoned homes. A trend observed since Wednesday, as reported Fox Newswhich even made President Joe Biden react this Friday. After comparing the city of Angels to a “ war scene, with bombings » he mentioned “clear evidence of looting”.
As a result, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna warned residents of this new measure this Friday. “ You cannot be in these affected areas. If you are there, you risk being arrested. We do it to protect the buildings, the homes that people left because they were ordered to.”he explained during a press conference.
The main areas affected by this curfew are those of Pacific Palisades and Eaton, i.e. the entire areas subject to mandatory evacuation. “ We don’t joke about this. We do not want anyone to take advantage of our residents who have already been victimized », added the sheriff. According to CNN« violators of the curfew will be subject to arrest (…) which may result in a fine of up to $1,000 or imprisonment ».
20 arrests Thursday
And to curb the most reckless looters, the sheriff also announced that police patrols would be deployed in the burned areas. With no less than 210 National Guard agents deployed this Friday evening. A policy of “zero tolerance” will also be applied in matters of looting. Any person caught will be arrested and prosecuted, specified Robert Luna, speaking of “ despicable looting ».
As of Thursday morning, twenty people had already been arrested in the evacuated fire zones, as reported ABC7 quoting Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “In the midst of a crisis, we have all seen people preying on vulnerable people by burglarizing and looting homes. This is simply unacceptable… I promise you will answer for it”had launched Kathryn Barger. “Shame on those who attack our residents during this time of crisis. »
In and around Los Angeles, flames have burned more than 35,000 acres so far, according to the California State Fire Department. And more than 180,000 people were evacuated, while the death toll remains at ten as of Friday.
As for the main outbreaks, the one in the northwest of Los Angeles which devours the upscale neighborhood of Pacific Palisades was still not contained. The fault, in large part, is the return of violent winds which caused new fires to break out. In Altadena, even though the spread of the fire was “considerably stopped” during the previous night according to the city firefighters, the situation remained the same.
Source: www.huffingtonpost.fr
