Speaker 1: You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
Speaker 1: KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2: Now, as we continue to make sure that you have
Speaker 2: the most important information available for you as you try
Speaker 2: to maneuver and navigate a tragedy possibly in your life.
Speaker 2: If you're one of the people who might have lost
Speaker 2: your home, or maybe you've been evacuated and you're not
Speaker 2: sure about the status of your home, you don't know
Speaker 2: what to do next, where to go next, Well, let
Speaker 2: me tell you about someone who might be able to
Speaker 2: help you. My next guest is Attorney Latissia Johnson, and
Speaker 2: she's a managing partner of the Southeastern Regional offices of
Speaker 2: Singleton Schreiber, which is the nation's preeminent wildfire litigation firm,
Speaker 2: having represented over twenty six thousand victims of wildfires and
Speaker 2: recovered over two point five billion dollars in settlements and
Speaker 2: verdicts for their clients. They have an upcoming zoom tomorrow
Speaker 2: at six pm Pacific and you can register at Singletonshreiber
Speaker 2: dot com.
Speaker 3: We'll make sure or that you have this information.
Speaker 2: We'll have plenty of time, but you can register at
Speaker 2: Singletonstreyber dot com and they'll be discussing community updates and
Speaker 2: available resources, and answer your questions about the Eton and
Speaker 2: hearstfires and have your concerns addressed by experience attorneys. So
Speaker 2: welcoming to the show right now, Attorney Latsia Johnson.
Speaker 3: Attorney Johnson, how are you this evening?
Speaker 4: I'm wonderful. How are you?
Speaker 2: I'm doing well all things considered, and I appreciate your
Speaker 2: expertise on this night. Now, for someone who doesn't understand
Speaker 2: the enormity of what may be confronting them after they're
Speaker 2: losing their homes in a tragedy like this, what's for
Speaker 2: you the first step that these homeowners should take.
Speaker 4: That's a very good question. So first and foremost, everyone
Speaker 4: needs to ensure their safety right. Make sure you're safe
Speaker 4: and follow all of the emergence the guidelines, respect the curfews,
Speaker 4: and heed all of the evacuation orders. So we want
Speaker 4: to keep people as ape as possible. Once you're safe,
Speaker 4: then it's time to start documenting everything. Take photos of
Speaker 4: the damage, you know, go through all those picks on
Speaker 4: your phone, Start making list of all the items that
Speaker 4: have been lost. Gave all of your receipts from fire
Speaker 4: related expenses, keep records of all of your communications with
Speaker 4: your insurance company, and most importantly, understand your rights before making,
Speaker 4: you know, any major decisions about your claims. You know,
Speaker 4: this is why we hold those town halls to help
Speaker 4: people understand all of their options.
Speaker 3: Would you say pictures of your home?
Speaker 2: I would interpret that to mean if you do have
Speaker 2: any pictures of your home before the tragedy, wouldn't that
Speaker 2: also help?
Speaker 3: Oh?
Speaker 4: Yes, that's exactly what I mean. You know, sometimes we
Speaker 4: think we remember all the things that we own. Going
Speaker 4: through those pictures will help your dog, your memory of
Speaker 4: all the little things, right, And you want to claim
Speaker 4: everything because we want you to, you know, receive the
Speaker 4: benefit of all the things that you own. You know,
Speaker 4: that's probably your wealth.
Speaker 2: You say, the first thing at the top of the
Speaker 2: list should be obviously making sure that you're safe, that
Speaker 2: you're observing the curfew and the laws regarding that. But
Speaker 2: at the same time, I'm quite sure people were thinking, like, well,
Speaker 2: should I reach out to FEMA first? Should I reach
Speaker 2: out to my insurance provider first? I mean, what is
Speaker 2: the level of what's the priority order?
Speaker 4: So it really depends on your situation. And so you know,
Speaker 4: if you call us and talk to us so we
Speaker 4: can better advise. I would just sort of hate to
Speaker 4: give sort of generic answer because there's so many diverse
Speaker 4: situations out there.
Speaker 3: Now, let's talk about hypothetical.
Speaker 2: There are thousands of people in the Eton Canyon area
Speaker 2: Altadena who've lost their homes. Let's talk from a standpoint
Speaker 2: of someone who's completely lost their home and they can't
Speaker 2: even at this moment get back up to where their
Speaker 2: home was because they have not been allowed to return.
Speaker 2: What could they be doing possibly during this time other
Speaker 2: than getting their documents together.
Speaker 4: Well, you know, they have to secure living arrangements, reaching
Speaker 4: out to their insurance company. It would also be important
Speaker 4: to start to get to understand their benefits, start talking
Speaker 4: to various attorneys to see so that you can make
Speaker 4: an informed decision. It's time to gather all the information
Speaker 4: you possibly can about your claims, potential claims, and your
Speaker 4: injuries and your rights.
Speaker 2: I know someone is listening right now who does not
Speaker 2: have their home unfortunately, And I know someone who's listening
Speaker 2: right now who lost their home and may not have
Speaker 2: had the opportunity or even the forethought of or forethought
Speaker 2: of mind to gather documents such as like a deed
Speaker 2: or any type of information about the sale of the
Speaker 2: house or the condition of the house, and they may
Speaker 2: be limited as far as the number of pictures they have.
Speaker 2: In other words, it's a dire situation all the way
Speaker 2: around for someone like that. And I know someone in
Speaker 2: that same situation will be on that zoom tomorrow.
Speaker 3: What would you tell him or her? In a general sense, So.
Speaker 4: For instance, if you don't know who your home insurance
Speaker 4: is with, you can always call your mortgage company if
Speaker 4: it's s road, or you can call your insurance agent.
Speaker 2: When you are getting I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't
Speaker 2: mean to step on you. What you're saying when you
Speaker 2: are handling these different cases like this, What are some
Speaker 2: of the questions that you find yourself fielding when you're
Speaker 2: doing a virtual town hall like this. I'm quite sure
Speaker 2: you've heard every question under the sun, but what are
Speaker 2: some of the more frequent questions that you receive?
Speaker 4: So you know, the impact of this devastation of this
Speaker 4: fire has been devastating, you know, with fourteen thousand acres burned,
Speaker 4: over seven thousand building damage and destroyed, and of course
Speaker 4: the loss of life. What we're hearing from families who've
Speaker 4: lost everything. You know, in this in particular situation, homes
Speaker 4: passed down through generations. We're you know, we are hearing
Speaker 4: them really worry about being able to rebuild and being displaced.
Speaker 3: As far as.
Speaker 2: The time period, because I know when you're in a
Speaker 2: desperate situation, you are by definition desperate. Everything is taking
Speaker 2: too long and you don't have enough time, and you
Speaker 2: don't want to wait months or years. But be honest
Speaker 2: with me, be honest with everyone listening right now, how
Speaker 2: long is this process usually best circumstances as far as
Speaker 2: being displaced, losing your home and being made whole, if
Speaker 2: at all possible.
Speaker 4: Unfortunately, it is not a short term process. On the
Speaker 4: better side, we're looking at eighteen months on probably more
Speaker 4: of an average between eighteen months and twenty four months
Speaker 4: before lawsuit settlements, insurance places. It may come in quicker
Speaker 4: than that. Of course KMA beta fits might be quicker event,
Speaker 4: but before it all closes out, we're looking at, you know,
Speaker 4: a minimum of two years, and then of course families
Speaker 4: have to be a movie built. So this is this
Speaker 4: isn't a short term process.
Speaker 2: If you're tuning in right now, my guest is attorney
Speaker 2: Letisia Johnson, who is the managing partner of Singleton Schreiber,
Speaker 2: the nation's pre eminent wildfire litigation firm, having represented over
Speaker 2: twenty six thousand victims of wildfires. They're having a very
Speaker 2: important and obviously free virtual town hall tomorrow. You can register.
Speaker 2: It's at six pm LA time. Register at Singleton Shreiber
Speaker 2: dot com. That's s I N G L E T
Speaker 2: O N S C h R E I B e
Speaker 2: R dot com.
Speaker 3: We'll have more with Letisia Johnson in just a moment.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
Speaker 1: kf I A M six forty.
Speaker 2: I'm speaking with Attorney Latissia Johnson, who is the manage
Speaker 2: partner of Singleton Schreiber for the Southeastern region and Singleton
Speaker 2: Shreiber's the nation's preeminent wildfire litigation firm, having represented over
Speaker 2: twenty six thousand victims of wildfires and recovered over two
Speaker 2: point five billion in settlements and verdicts for their clients.
Speaker 2: They're offering an exclusive opportunity to ask key questions about
Speaker 2: the Eton and hearstfires and have your questions, excuse me
Speaker 2: concerns addressed by experienced attorneys and they will also be
Speaker 2: offering community updates and available resources Tomorrow at six pm.
Speaker 2: You can register for the virtual town hall at Singletonshreiber
Speaker 2: dot com. Of course we'll have that information at KFIAM
Speaker 2: six forty dot com and Attorney Johnson let me come
Speaker 2: back to you and bring you into the conversation. You
Speaker 2: and in your firm, they take fire litigation cases on
Speaker 2: a contingency fee basis, meaning you don't get paid unless
Speaker 2: their clients get paid. I know there is a question
Speaker 2: about what money do people have to offer up Explain
Speaker 2: that for people who may not understand what contingency basis is.
Speaker 4: So essentially it means there is no requirement to pay
Speaker 4: anything upfront, that we don't get paid until our clients
Speaker 4: get paid.
Speaker 2: What are some of the first steps that you as
Speaker 2: legal representation will be taken on behalf of I'm quite
Speaker 2: sure some people who will be at that virtual town
Speaker 2: hall tomorrow.
Speaker 4: So the first thing that we want to do is
Speaker 4: sort of explain what the firm offers and take questions
Speaker 4: and try to ease concerns, and then you know, of course,
Speaker 4: then give people the option if they want to sign
Speaker 4: up with us, they will have that option as well.
Speaker 2: You're also available to assist with FEMA applications. And if
Speaker 2: you could just break down what you are offering to
Speaker 2: do as far as helping people become whole with insurance
Speaker 2: and how that's different from how you will assist with FEMA.
Speaker 4: Sure, so we have our clients will have access to
Speaker 4: an insurance expert free of charge, who will consult with
Speaker 4: them in terms of the offers that are made by
Speaker 4: their insurance companies. Our team also is available to assist
Speaker 4: individuals with SEMA applications and appeals at no cost. We
Speaker 4: also have an on social worker and our clients have
Speaker 4: unlimited access to this social worker who is available to
Speaker 4: assist with finding housing, applying for financial aid, and locating
Speaker 4: mental health resources.
Speaker 2: Okay, let me just stay right there, since we are
Speaker 2: talking about FEMA and that's separate and distinct from the
Speaker 2: insurance process. What you said could take upwards of, you know,
Speaker 2: two years, and people who are without a place to stay,
Speaker 2: they may have temporary housing, but as far as permanent housing.
Speaker 3: They do not have that.
Speaker 2: If it's two years for the insurance, what are we
Speaker 2: talking about as far as schedule for FEMA, as far
Speaker 2: as what FEMA can do and will do.
Speaker 4: So you know, that's sort of a slipperly slope and
Speaker 4: I really can't say for sure because it's again it's
Speaker 4: one of those things that's on an individual basis and
Speaker 4: depends on the circumstance. So what I can say is
Speaker 4: that we can help you through that process, whatever that
Speaker 4: process looks like.
Speaker 2: Tomorrow you have your virtual town hall meeting. You can
Speaker 2: register at Singleton Schreiber dot com. That's s I N
Speaker 2: G L E t O N S C h R
Speaker 2: E I B E R dot com. Will have that
Speaker 2: information on our website at KF I A M six
Speaker 2: forty dot com. And in that you'll have a number
Speaker 2: of a ternoorneys who will be on that call that
Speaker 2: virtual town hall. Tell me about some of the expertise
Speaker 2: which is going to be offered from yourself and other attorneys.
Speaker 4: So you know, you've said it several times. You know,
Speaker 4: we leave the Nation and Fire litigation, and so we
Speaker 4: have a managing partner of the entire firm, Jerald Smilton.
Speaker 4: He will be on the call and he will answer
Speaker 4: questions and explain the processes. We have represented so many
Speaker 4: victims of fire and there's so many fires across the
Speaker 4: nation that we have represented victims with and he'll talk
Speaker 4: to about his experience, and I think that's really where
Speaker 4: you get the expertise. It's I mean, it's to be seen.
Speaker 4: You've seen it.
Speaker 2: I know that this is one of those difficult times
Speaker 2: in some of your clients' lives where where they may
Speaker 2: be full of emotion, they may be uncertain about what
Speaker 2: the future is going to bring and they have no
Speaker 2: idea where to turn, and you have a good idea
Speaker 2: of what they need to do, but at the same time,
Speaker 2: you can't get emotionally attached to the clients. What I
Speaker 2: would ask you before I let you go, is how
Speaker 2: do you go about providing some level of assurance that
Speaker 2: this is a process which can be managed, even though
Speaker 2: it may take some time, even though it may take
Speaker 2: a lot of work, but this is a process, when
Speaker 2: done correctly, can really be beneficial for people who are
Speaker 2: going through it right about now.
Speaker 4: Well, I think it is because I feel like it's
Speaker 4: a huge opportunity. You know, I remember all the devastation
Speaker 4: that happened during Katrina, and then all of the devastation
Speaker 4: that happened after Katrina. I think with our firm being
Speaker 4: involved in this process at such an early state, we
Speaker 4: can help protect the community from those that from scavengers,
Speaker 4: and we can help people make the best decisions for
Speaker 4: themselves to make sure they maintain and so make sure
Speaker 4: that it gets a justice that they deserve and the
Speaker 4: resources that they need to rebuild.
Speaker 2: She is Attorney Latsia Johnson, managing partner of Singleton Schreiber
Speaker 2: for their Southeastern region, the nation's preeminent wildfire litigation firm,
Speaker 2: having represented over twenty six thousand victims of wildfires. They're
Speaker 2: having an exclusive virtual town hall meeting tomorrow where you
Speaker 2: have the opportunity to ask key questions about the Eton
Speaker 2: and hearstfires and have your concerns addressed by their experience attorneys.
Speaker 2: You can register right now. It's tomorrow at six pm,
Speaker 2: but you can register right now at Singleton Shreiber dot com.
Speaker 2: Attorney Johnson, thank you so much for coming on tonight
Speaker 2: and thank you for sharing your expertise.
Speaker 4: Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1: You're listening to later with Moe Kelly on demand from
Speaker 1: KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2: And over the course of day, you might have seen
Speaker 2: a couple of press conferences.
Speaker 3: Want to get into them both right now.
Speaker 2: I want to take to my time and slow down
Speaker 2: so we can listen to some really good information which
Speaker 2: was passed along by not only our civic leaders but
Speaker 2: also our elected leaders. First I want to get into
Speaker 2: and I'm doing this in reverse chronological order. There was
Speaker 2: a press conference by our new La County DA Nathan
Speaker 2: Hoffman about two o'clock today where he's from where I'm sitting,
Speaker 2: delivering on a promise to be tougher on crime, making
Speaker 2: sure that criminals are prosecuted to the fullest extent of
Speaker 2: the laws, something that we were not getting under George Gascone,
Speaker 2: and also serving notice to any would be criminals that,
Speaker 2: as they say, the proverbial news share is in town.
Speaker 2: And this is Nathan Hockman earlier today talking about those
Speaker 2: who've been arrested for looting an arson.
Speaker 5: There have been certain people that we have given a
Speaker 5: warning to because we anticipated that this was going to happen.
Speaker 6: And these are the criminals.
Speaker 5: These are the people who are seeking to exploit this
Speaker 5: tragedy for their own benefit. These are people who have
Speaker 5: engaged in looting arson. We've also investigated price gouging, will
Speaker 5: be investigating internet scams.
Speaker 3: And the like.
Speaker 5: Today, we're here to announce that the promise that we
Speaker 5: made when we started this that these criminals would be arrested,
Speaker 5: they would be prosecuted, and they will be maximally punished,
Speaker 5: is a promise we are keeping. As we announced today,
Speaker 5: the charges being filed on ten different individuals, nine of
Speaker 5: them for looting in both the Palisades and the Eden fires,
Speaker 5: and one for arson and arson, by the way, not
Speaker 5: connected with the origination of the major fires, but an
Speaker 5: arson that occurred in Azusa. These felony charges are the
Speaker 5: result of a multi agency collaboration. There's been nothing short
Speaker 5: of incredibly impressive to be able to bring these charges
Speaker 5: this quickly. This collaboration includes the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department,
Speaker 5: the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles County Fire
Speaker 5: Arson Unit, the US Attorney's Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
Speaker 5: the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the ATF,
Speaker 5: the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, and all our related
Speaker 5: cities that you'll hear about that have done incredible work
Speaker 5: under enormously stressful times in order to bring these culprits
Speaker 5: to justice. I'll go through the various charges that have
Speaker 5: been filed to date. The first set of charges are
Speaker 5: against two individuals. They should be three individuals, Martrell Peoples,
Speaker 5: Damari Bell, and Travin Coleman. What two of these individuals
Speaker 5: did is on the night of both January eighth and
Speaker 5: the early morning hours of January ninth, they went ahead
Speaker 5: and committed residential first degree residential burglary and looting during
Speaker 5: an emergency and evacuation situation in a house in Mandeville Canyon.
Speaker 5: They've been charged with first degree residential burglary. They've been
Speaker 5: charged with looting. They've been charged with grand theft. They
Speaker 5: stole over two hundred thousand dollars has been alleged by
Speaker 5: the charging documents. And by the way, with respect to
Speaker 5: the charges I'm going to announce, please know this, the
Speaker 5: charges themselves are not evidence. Everyone that I'm going to
Speaker 5: to describe today is presumed guilty until and orless they
Speaker 5: are proven guilt. Their guilt is proven by the government
Speaker 5: beyond a reasonable doubt.
Speaker 6: Sure presumed insign excuse me.
Speaker 5: Presumed innocent, Thank you for they change presumed innocent until
Speaker 5: and aless their guilt is proven beyond a reasonable doubt,
Speaker 5: so back with mister Peoples and mister Bell. They went
Speaker 5: ahead and committed these crimes. And when they committed these crimes,
Speaker 5: as you're going to see on this TV screen right
Speaker 5: here to my left, it was caught on a ring
Speaker 5: camera if you can play that as we're speaking, and
Speaker 5: the lapd through again. Such impressive investigation worked with various
Speaker 5: leads and tracked mister Peoples and mister Bell to an
Speaker 5: apartment in Koreatown. Surveillance was then conducted. When they attempted
Speaker 5: to leave, they were then apprehended and items of a
Speaker 5: number of these stolen items from that residence was found
Speaker 5: with mister Peoples and mister Bell.
Speaker 6: Mister Peoples is a.
Speaker 5: Second is committed to prior violent or serious felonies. This
Speaker 5: is his third as a three strike. As a potential
Speaker 5: three strike person, he is looking at life life in
Speaker 5: prison and mister Bell, as a second strike individual, will
Speaker 5: be looking at twenty two years and eight months in
Speaker 5: prison if convicted. Mister Coleman accompanied mister Bell and mister
Speaker 5: Peoples out of that apartment building in Koreatown, went into
Speaker 5: a second car, and when mister Peoples and mister Bell
Speaker 5: were stopped that second car driven by mister Coleman kept going,
Speaker 5: it went through a light a crash into another vehicle.
Speaker 5: That innocent person in the other vehicle suffered a concussion.
Speaker 5: So mister Coleman has been charged with one count felony
Speaker 5: hit and run causing great bodily injury as also a
Speaker 5: potential third strike case. He is looking at a maximum
Speaker 5: sentence of life in prison. The second case that we'll
Speaker 5: talk about involves Rudy Salazar and Lucia Hilara Perez.
Speaker 6: They have been charged with.
Speaker 5: Two counts of each of first degree residential burglary in
Speaker 5: connection with an Altadena looting incident. On the night of
Speaker 5: again January eighth, they went ahead and entered two different
Speaker 5: houses in the Altadena area, stealing property in each of
Speaker 5: the houses, and they were apprehended by the police. And
Speaker 5: they are looking at six years maximum on each one
Speaker 5: of the residential burglary counts. The third set of charges
Speaker 5: is against Roy Simms, Ryan Simms, Nikwan Dewey Reddicks, and
Speaker 5: Pieri Obannon. They are each charged with one count of
Speaker 5: first degree residential burglary in connection with their crimes where
Speaker 5: they went into a house in Altadena in the early
Speaker 5: morning hours and stole a number of a variety of
Speaker 5: different personal property from the owners of that house. If
Speaker 5: we can show some of that property and the resident
Speaker 5: and the burglary tools that were seized, we do not
Speaker 5: have that. Among the property that you'll see that was
Speaker 5: stolen in that particular incident was actually the Emmy award
Speaker 5: of the resident who lived there was the police worked
Speaker 5: incredibly quickly in that situation, stopped these individuals and were
Speaker 5: able to apprehend them and recover most of the stolen property.
Speaker 6: The fourth incident.
Speaker 5: Is an arson incident in which Jose Harado Escobar has
Speaker 5: been charged.
Speaker 6: We have that ready.
Speaker 5: This is an incident that occurred in Azusa where mister
Speaker 5: Escobar has been charged with three different arson charges. He
Speaker 5: is looking at nine years in state prison. This is
Speaker 5: arson that occurred at Pioneer Park in the city of Azusa.
Speaker 5: It was investigated by the Azuza Police Department, who acted
Speaker 5: very effectively and very efficiently in apprehending mister Escobar.
Speaker 6: Mister Escobar as well has been.
Speaker 5: Now he's been charged, but he has set for arraiment today.
Speaker 5: So again with respect to all these charges, as I
Speaker 5: said before, these charges are not evidence and they are
Speaker 5: presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. But
Speaker 5: this shows the effectiveness of law enforcement. So when I said,
Speaker 5: and I have been saying over the that past couple days,
Speaker 5: the question is not if, but when you will be
Speaker 5: caught if you engage in these crimes. The ten charges
Speaker 5: or ten different individuals that have been charged today are
Speaker 5: evidence of that fact, and the warning shot remains. Do
Speaker 5: not go ahead and engage in looting, engage in internet scams,
Speaker 5: engage in price gouging, do not violate evacuation orders, and
Speaker 5: do not commit any of these crimes in which people
Speaker 5: are trying to profit from the tragedy of the people
Speaker 5: who have suffered from these various fires.
Speaker 1: You're listening too later with Moe Kelly on Demand from
Speaker 1: KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 3: Something that Da Hawkman said at the end.
Speaker 2: I don't know if you caught it, when he was
Speaker 2: talking about do not engage in price gouging, and that
Speaker 2: would be interesting to see how they monitor it. How
Speaker 2: what's the threshold for charging someone as being criminally.
Speaker 3: Liable for price gouging?
Speaker 2: Because you see it all the time, and you especially
Speaker 2: see it during disaster situations where businesses or services will
Speaker 2: try to gouge the public, and you never hear about
Speaker 2: any type of consequences for that. So I'm interested to
Speaker 2: see whether that will hold true to form and whether
Speaker 2: Da Hakman will actually lean into anyone or any business
Speaker 2: engaging in price gouging. Also from the law enforcement side,
Speaker 2: earlier today, I want to say it's about maybe nine
Speaker 2: this morning, you had LA Sheriff Robert Luna weigh in
Speaker 2: on some of the issues and some of his demands
Speaker 2: as far as what he expects of people respecting the
Speaker 2: curfew and what we need to do to remain safe.
Speaker 7: Regarding our deployment, we still have well over one thousand
Speaker 7: of our Los Angeles County deputies out there working on
Speaker 7: twelve hour shifts. We have one hundred and seventy two
Speaker 7: California Highway Patrol officers. I'd like to thank the Commissioner
Speaker 7: who was with me yesterday, Chandie, for all of his assistants.
Speaker 8: I also want to thank Major General Beavers.
Speaker 7: I was with him as well, and he has fortunately
Speaker 7: been able to increase the amount of National Guard assistance
Speaker 7: that he is giving us up to six hundred and
Speaker 7: he told me yesterday if we need more, we can
Speaker 7: ask for more and we are strategically looking at that,
Speaker 7: analyzing it and we'll ask as needed.
Speaker 8: Evacuations.
Speaker 7: We have approximately and this is some good news because
Speaker 7: it's dropped. We have over ninety two thousand people who
Speaker 7: are under evacuation orders and approximately eighty nine thousand people
Speaker 7: who are under evacuation warnings. I want our community to
Speaker 7: know this, and Chief Maroney did talk about this for
Speaker 7: a second. In every conversation we're having about evacuations warnings,
Speaker 7: whether they're.
Speaker 8: Going to implement them or or take them.
Speaker 7: Away, the conversation about repopulation is on all of our minds.
Speaker 8: I know that we are.
Speaker 7: Attending staffs, attending community meetings, whether they be out in
Speaker 7: the Palisades fire area in Malibu for us at Alli
Speaker 7: County Sheriffs in the Altadena area. We are hearing our
Speaker 7: community loud and clear, and we want to get you
Speaker 7: in there as soon as possible. But I want to
Speaker 7: reiterate what is holding us up. This is very important.
Speaker 7: We are still for the Altadena area. We are in
Speaker 7: the third day of grid searching. It is a very
Speaker 7: grim task and we unfortunately every day we're doing this,
Speaker 7: we're running across the remains of individual community members. That
Speaker 7: is not easy work, very sad to report, and I
Speaker 7: believe that work is not only going to continue, but
Speaker 7: I believe will continue to find remains.
Speaker 8: So please be patient with us.
Speaker 7: People are saying, I just want to go look at
Speaker 7: my house and I want to see what's left. We
Speaker 7: know that, but we have people literally looking for the
Speaker 7: remains of your neighbors. Please be patient with us. There's
Speaker 7: a lot of hazards in the area still, the area
Speaker 7: has not been rendered safe. Please be patient with us.
Speaker 7: And then we have the potential of crime scenes. And
Speaker 7: I'm not saying that's what it is. I'm just saying
Speaker 7: we have to think ahead because we can't go back
Speaker 7: from that, So please be patient with us. The curfew
Speaker 7: is still in effect six pm to six am for
Speaker 7: specifically the mandatory evacuation areas in both the Palisides impacted
Speaker 7: area and the Eton Fire impacted areas. Those are subject
Speaker 7: to change depending on need one way or another. We
Speaker 7: understand again that people want to go back, but it
Speaker 7: is dangerous to do so and we will not put
Speaker 7: anybody's safety at risk. I want to talk about arrest
Speaker 7: for the Ali County Sheriff's area. Overnight, we had several
Speaker 7: other arrests. It brings it up to a total of
Speaker 7: thirty four in our geographic area. We have thirty in
Speaker 7: the Eton Fire area, and we have four in the
Speaker 7: Palisades area. Last night, specifically, again for La County Sheriff's jurisdiction,
Speaker 7: we arrested four. Two were for curfew violations, two were
Speaker 7: arrested for one drone incident. To my knowledge, we have
Speaker 7: now had two specific drone incidents that have resulted in
Speaker 7: three arrests. So, as I talk to our community again,
Speaker 7: if you do not have business in the in the
Speaker 7: evacuation areas, do not go there.
Speaker 8: Please.
Speaker 7: You're infringing upon the work that our first responders need
Speaker 7: to attend to. And I do want to say when
Speaker 7: I talk about these arrests, I want to clarify not
Speaker 7: all of them are for burglary or looting or for
Speaker 7: curfew violations, but it is very important when I say
Speaker 7: stay out. We are arresting people who are not supposed
Speaker 7: to be there, who do not live there, who are
Speaker 7: in possession of narcotics. We've arrested several with guns, and yeah,
Speaker 7: I'm going to tell you something. If we're if our
Speaker 7: deputies being very proactive in these areas, stopping people in
Speaker 7: a constantitutional manner as always making sure that they're supposed
Speaker 7: to be there, and you have narcotics on you and
Speaker 7: you have a gun on you and police work, we
Speaker 7: call that a clue something's wrong there. So that's why
Speaker 7: we're arresting people. Our search and rescue missions up to
Speaker 7: through the two days, we have searched one eight and
Speaker 7: seventy four properties. In regards to deaths, and again I
Speaker 7: want to clarify this is for the Los Angeles County
Speaker 7: area of responsibility. We have confirmed twenty one deaths, sixteen
Speaker 7: in the Eton Fire area and five in the Palisades area,
Speaker 7: and sadly, yes, unfortunately I anticipate the number to go up.
Speaker 8: Missing persons.
Speaker 7: We are actively have twenty three active missing persons reported,
Speaker 7: seventeen in the Eton Fire area, six in the Malibu area.
Speaker 7: All of them are adults. God there's no juveniles. But
Speaker 7: if you believe you have somebody who's missing, make sure
Speaker 7: you report that to us as soon as possible. For
Speaker 7: any updated information that anybody may have. Questions, very important
Speaker 7: questions regarding evacuation orders or warnings or any road closures,
Speaker 7: please go to Ali County dot gov slash emergency for assistance.
Speaker 7: The American Red Cross is doing an amazing job. Please
Speaker 7: contact Please contact them. And again for some of the
Speaker 7: negative things I talk about, there are some amazing stories
Speaker 7: of community members coming forward to donate items. It's very
Speaker 7: inspiring for donations go to Emergency Network Los Angeles.
Speaker 2: And also we heard from other members of our law
Speaker 2: enforcement community. Because there are two sides to the disaster.
Speaker 2: There are the victims of the disaster itself and they're
Speaker 2: the victims who continue to be victimized by other people
Speaker 2: in the community of the same disaster. And here is
Speaker 2: now LAPD assisted Chief Dominic Choi.
Speaker 9: I want to start by just assuring everybody that our
Speaker 9: primary focus still remains the safety and well being of
Speaker 9: our residents. These fires have caused significant disruptions, but we
Speaker 9: are working tirelessly with our partners to protect lives, property,
Speaker 9: and secure critical infrastructure. So as of this morning, LAPD
Speaker 9: has in the city two hundred and sixty six officers
Speaker 9: deployed to the Palisades fire. We also have support from
Speaker 9: our National Guard partners who have deployed two hundred soldiers
Speaker 9: assigned to the incident.
Speaker 6: We're very grateful for their support.
Speaker 9: We also have dedicated resource investigating our missing persons reported
Speaker 9: so at this time, as of this morning six am,
Speaker 9: we have a total of twenty six people reported missing
Speaker 9: in the city of Los Angeles. Seventeen of those individuals
Speaker 9: have been located safely. Nine of the nine remaining, two
Speaker 9: most likely were found in the fires, deceased, but they
Speaker 9: haven't been positively identified by a corner's office yet, so
Speaker 9: those are still waiting to be identified. One individual we
Speaker 9: believe it is located safely in a shelter, but that
Speaker 9: person we're waiting for confirmation on that. There are six
Speaker 9: that remain unaccounted for, and we're diligently trying to identify
Speaker 9: and locate these people. So in total, in the city
Speaker 9: of Los Angeles since Tuesday, when these fires occurred.
Speaker 6: We have three fatalities.
Speaker 9: Again, two are found in the fires, and one was
Speaker 9: a burn victim that was transported earlier this week to
Speaker 9: a hospital.
Speaker 6: That person later passed away.
Speaker 9: If you want to make a missing person's report, you
Speaker 9: can do so either in person or over the phone.
Speaker 9: You can call any one of our twenty one geographic
Speaker 9: stations and make that report, or you can call our
Speaker 9: Missing Person's Investigation Unit directly.
Speaker 6: I'm going to give you the number.
Speaker 9: It's two one, three, nine, nine six, eighteen hundred and
Speaker 9: select option three. That telephone is man twenty four hours
Speaker 9: a day. Currently, as of this morning, the City of
Speaker 9: Los Angeles related to the fires has a total of
Speaker 9: fourteen arrests, three for curfew, one for impersonating a firefighter,
Speaker 9: one for possession of burglary tools, four for burglary, one
Speaker 9: for DUI, one for feony vandalism, and three for shoplifting.
Speaker 6: As is Sheriff just mentioned, it's not just.
Speaker 9: For looting or burglary that you're going to jail or curfew.
Speaker 9: If you're in the area.
Speaker 6: You don't belong in the area.
Speaker 9: You will be stopped and questioned, and whatever crime you're
Speaker 9: is being committed, you will be.
Speaker 6: Held accountable for that.
Speaker 9: So please stay away from these evacuation areas. Regarding escorts,
Speaker 9: we talked about this a little bit yesterday, but we
Speaker 9: tried to be compassionate put together a team to escort
Speaker 9: residents to their homes to either retrieve small pets or
Speaker 9: their medication. But that line became exceedingly large and it
Speaker 9: was causing war problems and solutions. We have halted this
Speaker 9: escort service for the safety.
Speaker 6: Of everyone involved.
Speaker 9: Currently, we don't have any timeline of when we're going
Speaker 9: to open up that service, if at all, so please
Speaker 9: be patient with us.
Speaker 6: We know you're waiting.
Speaker 9: If you are still waiting at any of these checkpoints
Speaker 9: to be left to be let in or escorted, please
Speaker 9: do not wait there.
Speaker 6: You will not be let in or allowed to have
Speaker 6: an escort at this time.
Speaker 9: Also, another important reason for stopping these escorts is because
Speaker 9: we have search operations beginning.
Speaker 6: Over the next forty eight hours.
Speaker 9: We'll be working alongside LAFD Search and Rescue, our ATF partners,
Speaker 9: as well as the LA County Corner's Office throughout the
Speaker 9: burn areas, giving priority to those people that are reported
Speaker 9: missing in these burn areas. From there, grid search will
Speaker 9: take place that could result in crime.
Speaker 6: Scene preservation and then recovery remains.
Speaker 9: We hope that the high volume of resources dedicated this
Speaker 9: to this effort expedite the process. And as many of
Speaker 9: you know, the dry conditions and winds increasing, it's possible
Speaker 9: that evacuation orders may increase. I know overnight we saw
Speaker 9: some of the evacuation orders turn into warnings, but we
Speaker 9: can absolutely see some of these order areas increase to
Speaker 9: mandatory evacuations again, so I urge you, we urge you,
Speaker 9: please heed these orders.
Speaker 6: It can save your life.
Speaker 9: And as we also previously mentioned, identifying the cause of
Speaker 9: these fires it's critically important to all of us. In
Speaker 9: conjunction with our partners and led by ATF, we have
Speaker 9: created other Los Angeles Regional Wildlife Investigative Task Force, and
Speaker 9: while their work is still in the early stages, we're
Speaker 9: committed to identifying the cause and origin of these fires,
Speaker 9: and we're also committed to holding anyone who's responsible for
Speaker 9: these fires accountable and to further protect the residents of
Speaker 9: Los Angeles in the city, our curfew is also still
Speaker 9: in effect from six pm to six am in Shore.
Speaker 6: If you don't belong there, don't be there.
Speaker 9: In closing, I want to reiterate that our department and
Speaker 9: all of us standing here this morning are with you.
Speaker 9: I want to express my deepest gratitude to the firefighters,
Speaker 9: our fellow law enforcement partners and volunteers who are putting
Speaker 9: themselves in harm's way to protect our communities and help
Speaker 9: people recover. Their bravery and dedication are truly inspirational. We
Speaker 9: are also grateful for the patience and cooperation of our
Speaker 9: residents during this difficult time. We know this is not easy.
Speaker 9: Thank you and be safe.
Speaker 2: KF I am six forty. I'm O Kelly. We're live
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