L.A. City approves ordinance to allow law enforcement to remove homeless from high-risk fire zones

City council to vote on proposed ordinance

The Los Angeles City Council will vote on a proposed ordinance that will allow law enforcement to remove homeless people from fire areas.

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles City Council approved a proposed ordinance on Wednesday that will give law enforcement the authority to order homeless people out of encampments located in brush areas on high-risk fire days.

Related: L.A. considers allowing law enforcement to remove people from high-risk fire zones

Under the proposal, the enforcement would be addressed in three tiers. The first would be during no-risk days when the Los Angeles Fire Department would provide fire education materials for people in the areas. The second would be during red-flag days when law enforcement would be permitted to remove people. The third would be an enforcement response during a brush fire emergency.

The danger of homeless encampments in high-risk fire areas was highlighted July 30th when a blaze tore through brush in the Sepulveda Basin where at least 100 homeless people were living in a makeshift encampment.