(C) Common Dreams
This story was originally published by Common Dreams and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Thousands of homes burned in Palisades, Eaton fires; more days of fire weather ahead [1]
[]
Date: 2025-01
Evacuation warning for juvenile hall in path of Hurst fire
Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar is now under an “evacuation warning” because of the Hurst fire, according to probation officials, but authorities have not yet moved the nearly 100 juveniles who remain locked up inside one of L.A. County’s most troubled jail facilities.
As of 6 p.m., the 850-acre blaze prompted the warning, according to Vicky Waters, communications director for the L.A. County Probation Department, which oversees the county’s juvenile halls.
Waters said there are 96 juveniles currently at Nidorf, the location of the county’s Secure Youth Treatment Facility, which houses some youths accused of serious crimes. The Hurst fire began burning Tuesday night just on the other side of the 210 Freeway, less than two miles from Nidorf hall.
Waters said early Wednesday that although “air quality is poor, precautions are being taken to protect the youth and staff” inside Nidorf. Air purifiers were being used inside the facility, she said.
“The Department has deployed additional staff to assist with any emergency or possible evacuations,” she said. “We are prepared and have plans in place should an evacuation order be issued.”
The Sylmar Courthouse inside the juvenile hall was closed Wednesday due to the Hurst fire and will remain closed on Thursday. Camp Kilpatrick in Malibu, which is about 20 miles from the site of the Palisades fire, has also not been evacuated and is not subject to an evacuation order, Waters said. About 20 youth are housed there.
Nidorf hall used to be home to a larger population of juveniles, but most of the facility was shut down by the California Board of State and Community Corrections in 2023 because of staffing issues and other regulatory violations. The Secure Youth Treatment Facility remains open, as it is not under that regulatory board’s jurisdiction.
News that the youth had yet to be evacuated drew outrage from some juvenile justice advocates on Wednesday.
“This is another example of how the County, City, and Probation Department do not care about our youth,” said Alex Trantham, secretary of the union that represents L.A. County public defenders. “The courts should be stopping any transport for the kids and have all probation vans at Barry J. to get our detained youth to safety.”
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.latimes.com/california/live/pacific-palisades-fire-updates-los-angeles#p=its-like-armageddon-restaurant-owner-describes-fire-that-burned-moonshadows-reel-inn-and-others
Published and (C) by Common Dreams
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0..
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/commondreams/
