Wildfire evacuation zone grows, it’s unclear if the 5,000-person prison will be released

A fire that broke out quickly near the Castaic jail sparked an uproar Wednesday morning, as advocates called on the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to evacuate the nearly 5,000 inmates held at the county’s north jail.

By mid-afternoon, sheriff’s officials began moving several hundred inmates from the barracks-like area of ​​the Castaic complex to a brick building on the same site. An hour later, the fire had spread so much that both facilities were in evacuation zones. It is not clear whether it was planned for people to leave.

The Hughes fire broke out just before 11 a.m., about 5 miles north of the Pitchess Detention Center.

“No order has been issued to evacuate people yet,” the department said at 10:58 a.m., minutes after the fire started. “The agencies are aware and will take appropriate action if necessary.”

But the fire quickly grew to more than 3,000 acres, and by noon, attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California — which represents inmates in two prison cases — began contacting state officials to urge action.

At 11:53 am, Melissa Camacho, senior staff attorney for ACLU Southern California, emailed Deputy Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Sandra Croxton about her concerns.

“I hope you and Supervisor Barger can immediately put pressure on LASD to begin vacating the four jails immediately,” Camacho wrote. “I would think there are about 1,000 LASD personnel out there, or that’s just a guess. But you’re definitely looking for more than 5,000 people to come out. Too many people to go out and wait for an evacuation order or a warning, especially since there are only about 20 buses that can be spread across the region right now.”

For years, the Sheriff’s Department has been struggling with a shortage of buses to transport prisoners, due to aging fleets that are difficult to maintain. Late last year, officials told The Times that only 20 of its 82 buses were still operating.

Although the district approved funding for 20 new buses in September 2023, the first didn’t arrive until December. Officials say that the remaining buses are expected to arrive every few weeks until the order is expected to be finalized in August.

It is unclear how the evacuation will work, but department officials said they may use state and other local resources.

At 12:20 pm on Wednesday, the Department said that it had not yet left the complex, but that day the deputies and prison guards were asked to stay until nightfall – to help when people are released from prisons, and to help with the release. in the fire-ravaged parts of Santa Clarita.

As of late last year, the department’s data shows that the Castaic prison houses about 4,700 people, including at least 1,200 with mental health problems.

“It’s the highest population in the area,” Camacho told The Times. “They don’t have enough buses to take people to court — they don’t have enough buses to take them all out at once.”

By 1 p.m., the fire had spread to more than 5,000 hectares. LA County Public Defenders Union issued a statement on social media requesting that the institutions be removed.

“We demand that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the Sheriff’s Department take immediate action to protect the lives of the thousands of inmates entrusted to their care,” the statement said. “We are very shocked by the danger that this tragedy can cause to the health and safety of our customers. They must not be ignored or left behind at this critical time.”

After 20 minutes, the department said it had redirected many of its buses that were still operating in the area and began transporting approximately 400 inmates from tent-like cells at the Pitchess Detention Center to the nearby North County Correctional Facility.

By 2:30 p.m., both centers were in the evacuation zone, which extended to The Old Road to the west and Newhall Ranch Road to the south. The department said it will “consider the situation” to find out if the move will continue.