This transient was caught camping illegally in the very high fire hazard severity zone.
(Editor’s note: Krisha Thangavelu, a Pacific Palisades resident, was awarded the Pacific Palisades Community Council Sparkplug award for her public safety service. In response to CTN’s story “Homeless Influx in Palisades’ Very High Fire Zone,” she wrote an informative comment. I’ve reprinted it as a letter so that others may view it, too.)
The public needs to be aware that our 26 square miles are extremely understaffed and under patrolled by LAPD. We have one officer 40 hours a week, 48 weeks of the year. Our beach detail is frequently pulled away and as reported here has simply not shown up for routine and incredibly important foot patrols of our bluffs.
By contrast the City of Hawthorne, about six square miles, and not in a very high fire severity zone, has almost 100 dedicated police officers, 60 support staff and a helicopter.
Beverly Hills City, under six square miles, also without any wildfire risk, has 145 sworn officers, and 95 non-sworn positions.
Think about it… Pacific Palisades with its ever present existential risk of wildfire, is almost FIVE times larger than these cities and has a LAPD presence staffed at less than one percent of these two cities.
We live on hope and a prayer. Thank God for PPTFH [Pacific Palisades Task Force on Homelessness] and our private security firms. Please support both of these organizations and ask the Mayor of Los Angeles what she plans to do to staff up LAPD for the Palisades.
These are SHOCKING numbers…now I’m getting “afraid”. Fire season has begun.