Los Angeles crews to clear brush after fires at Sepulveda Basin

Los Angeles city crews began clearing brush at the Sepulveda Basin on Monday as fires continue to plague the area. 

Some residents expressed cautious optimism about seeing the brush clearance after they raised concerns about the constant fires during a public safety meeting in late August.

“It’s a step in the right direction, but nowhere near where we need to be,” resident Adam Wright said. 

During the late-August meeting, the Los Angeles Fire Department said firefighters responded to 254 fires at the Sepulveda Basin through the first 240 days of the year. LAFD said it responded to 11 fires in the week following the meeting. 

“The fires are not starting on their own,” Wright said.

Wright shared a video that showed a man, whom he believed to be homeless, lighting a fire in January. City officials said anywhere between 233 and 275 unhoused people are living in the Sepulveda Basin.  A vast majority of the blazes, between 70% to 80%, “were related to warming fires or rubbish fires,” according to LAFD.

“It’s a very, very difficult situation and we feel that we’re in the line for fires, so we want it out,” homeowner Tim Weir said. 

Local leaders said that crews will contact LA Sanitation to remove encampments they encounter during the two-week brush-clearing project.

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