latimes--2020-10-27--As Dodgers and Lakers win, coronavirus spreads at celebrations, alarming health officials

Southern California counties are reopening their economies at a slower pace than other parts of the state , and officials blame celebrations .
Lakers and Dodgers viewing parties and public events are keeping coronavirus infections high enough to hold the region back , officials warn .
California has avoided the substantial spike in coronavirus cases seen across the country this fall , but some of the state ’ s most populated counties — Los Angeles , Riverside and San Bernardino — remain in the most restrictive reopening tier .
That means indoor dining rooms are shut , as are indoor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
San Diego County , now in the red tier , is teetering on backsliding into the most restrictive category .
Public health officials have identified gatherings as a significant source of virus transmission in Southern California , where young adults are driving the spread of the highly contagious disease .
There are also troubling signs of a potential increase in coronavirus cases .
Even after accounting for a backlog , Los Angeles County has gone from about 940 daily new cases at the beginning of October to nearly 1,200 new cases each @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the date of a positive test or the first onset of symptoms , said Barbara Ferrer , the county ’ s director of public health .
Officials are worried that the post-season success of the Lakers and the Dodgers may be playing a role in the increased coronavirus cases .
“ Gatherings in large crowds to watch games indoors , people aren ’ t wearing their face coverings , people are yelling a lot — that ’ s just not sensible , ” Ferrer said .
Even congregating at outdoor restaurants , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ without wearing masks , makes it “ so easy to spread this virus , ” she said .
About 55 % of people who knew of a possible exposure to the virus also attended a gathering where two or more people were sick , the county said , based on interviews with the newly infected or people who were in contact with them over the last three weeks .
Other parts of Southern California are seeing similar trends .
“ We ’ re seeing more spread at family and friend gatherings , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for San Bernardino County .
“ It seems to be more prominent in our younger populations — our under-40 crowd , for the most part.
” Among newly infected people who said they attended some kind of large gathering in the previous month in San Bernardino County , 61 % attended gatherings of friends or family , according to data from the second full week of October .
In Riverside County , public health officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser expressed dismay about a crowd of more than 1,000 people who showed up at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Municipal Airport — a mass gathering that has the potential of becoming a superspreader event .
Mass gatherings are generally banned under the state ’ s public health order .
“ The more people you get into a place , then the higher the risk that someone is going to be there with a big load of virus , ” Kaiser said .
“ Paradoxically , it ’ s probably somebody healthier because they can tolerate it .
And then those people turn out to be highly efficient in giving it to other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ importance , Kaiser said , with research showing that superspreader events are responsible for the majority of new infections .
Some people can infect others without ever falling sick themselves ; others can be contagious for 48 hours before showing symptoms .
“ We deal with underground parties and house bashes on a regular basis , ” Kaiser said .
“ Sometimes you don ’ t hear about these on social media until it ’ s too late.
” Neighborhoods around universities remain a persistent problem .
An outbreak has been identified among @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Orange County .
Since late August , more than 1,200 students at San Diego State University have tested positive for the coronavirus .
Large parties among families and friends at private homes are also a problem , with hosts even renting inflatable bounce houses .
“ We ’ re talking about multiple families getting together at residences , having even Jolly Jumps up on the front yard or in the backyard ; multiple cars lined up in the street .
We ’ ve even had reports of actual live music bands in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ director of public health for Ventura County .
Officials have resorted to pleading with the public to take the worst global pandemic in a century more seriously .
“ People are lowering their guards — going back to how they functioned before COVID-19 , going to gatherings , ” said San Diego County public health officer Dr. Wilma Wooten .
San Diego County is at risk of being forced by the state to close indoor dining rooms and indoor gyms and houses of worship if the transmission rate increases .
Gatherings are one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stuck in a coronavirus limbo , experts say .
Transmission is likely occurring at workplaces where employees are closer together .
And transmission may be greater in rural agricultural communities where migrant workers live in dense housing arrangements , as well as urban areas where low-income workers live in crowded homes and are less likely to be able to telecommute , said Dr. Robert Kim-Farley , medical epidemiologist and infectious diseases expert at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health .
Long before the pandemic , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bernardino counties , as well as many counties in the Central Valley , Salinas Valley and Imperial Valley , as ranking worse on a social vulnerability index .
That means that factors such as poverty , a lack of access to transportation and crowded housing may weaken a community ’ s ability to prevent human suffering and financial loss in a disaster .
L.A. County faces special challenges as a diverse and populous county , with some of the most crowded census tracts in the nation , and with its sheer size of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
Those things can make it challenging to manage a complicated reopening strategy .
The county also has a fairly high rate of poverty and a large number of Latino residents , communities that have been hit disproportionately hard by the virus .
There are also political factors .
In some parts of Southern California , there has been an explicit rejection of mask use , Kim-Farley said .
In Huntington Beach , workers say they have had their fair share of customers refusing to wear masks , with some even tearing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Southern California , the Bay Area has achieved vastly different results .
Some contributing factors may be the differing response of local leaders and public sentiment .
Some Southern California politicians have been among those pushing the state to more rapidly loosen restrictions on businesses .
By contrast , many health officials in the Bay Area have taken a decidedly slower approach , often retaining more restrictive rules even after state officials loosen them .
In San Francisco , Mayor London Breed credited residents for driving down the spread of the disease .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ me , over and over , pretty much yelling at everyone and asking people to wear your mask , socially distance , cancel your events , don ’ t come together , ” Breed told a local TV station .
“ The fact is : People actually listened.
” San Francisco is now in the state ’ s yellow tier , thanks in part to decreasing the disproportionate impact of the virus on the city ’ s most disadvantaged neighborhoods , state officials said .
The yellow tier is the state ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plan , allowing wide swaths of businesses to resume operations .
Some experts have also speculated that people in the Bay Area tend to adhere to health rules more than in other places .
The area ’ s poorly performing sports teams may have also assisted earlier this year when the pandemic first struck the region .
Epidemiologists credited the San Francisco 49ers ’ loss at the Super Bowl — and the resulting failure to have a victory parade — as a big reason why the Bay Area may have escaped a worse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spring .
State officials announced last week they will devote more resources to Los Angeles , Riverside and San Bernardino counties , including increasing mobile testing and helping those infected to isolate themselves while they recover .
They said similar strategies helped tamp down a surge in the Central Valley earlier this year .
Health officials are worried that Thanksgiving and Christmas could transform into superspreader events if people don ’ t cancel large gatherings or , at a minimum , take precautions .
New state minimum requirements allow for only small outside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , keeping guests six feet apart , wearing masks when not eating or drinking , serving food in single-serve disposable containers and limiting events to no more than two hours .
Times staff writers Luke Money , Maura Dolan and Stephanie Lai contributed to this report .

Los Angeles Lakers fans gather near Staples Center in downtown L.A. to celebrate the Lakers NBA Finals win over the Miami Heat.
Southern California counties are reopening their economies at a slower pace than other parts of the state, and officials blame celebrations. Lakers and Dodgers viewing parties and public events are keeping coronavirus infections high enough to hold the region back, officials warn.
California has avoided the substantial spike in coronavirus cases seen across the country this fall, but some of the state’s most populated counties — Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino — remain in the most restrictive reopening tier.
That means indoor dining rooms are shut, as are indoor operations of gyms and houses of worship. San Diego County, now in the red tier, is teetering on backsliding into the most restrictive category.
Public health officials have identified gatherings as a significant source of virus transmission in Southern California, where young adults are driving the spread of the highly contagious disease.
Advertisement
There are also troubling signs of a potential increase in coronavirus cases. Even after accounting for a backlog, Los Angeles County has gone from about 940 daily new cases at the beginning of October to nearly 1,200 new cases each day as of last week, based on the date of a positive test or the first onset of symptoms, said Barbara Ferrer, the county’s director of public health.
Officials are worried that the post-season success of the Lakers and the Dodgers may be playing a role in the increased coronavirus cases.
“Gatherings in large crowds to watch games indoors, people aren’t wearing their face coverings, people are yelling a lot — that’s just not sensible,” Ferrer said.
Even congregating at outdoor restaurants, while shouting and cheering and hugging strangers without wearing masks, makes it “so easy to spread this virus,” she said.
About 55% of people who knew of a possible exposure to the virus also attended a gathering where two or more people were sick, the county said, based on interviews with the newly infected or people who were in contact with them over the last three weeks.
Advertisement
Other parts of Southern California are seeing similar trends.
“We’re seeing more spread at family and friend gatherings,” said Corwin Porter, public health director for San Bernardino County. “It seems to be more prominent in our younger populations — our under-40 crowd, for the most part.”
Among newly infected people who said they attended some kind of large gathering in the previous month in San Bernardino County, 61% attended gatherings of friends or family, according to data from the second full week of October.
In Riverside County, public health officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser expressed dismay about a crowd of more than 1,000 people who showed up at the Banning Street Drag Race at the Banning Municipal Airport — a mass gathering that has the potential of becoming a superspreader event. Mass gatherings are generally banned under the state’s public health order.
“The more people you get into a place, then the higher the risk that someone is going to be there with a big load of virus,” Kaiser said. “Paradoxically, it’s probably somebody healthier because they can tolerate it. And then those people turn out to be highly efficient in giving it to other folks.”
Gatherings take on an outsized importance, Kaiser said, with research showing that superspreader events are responsible for the majority of new infections. Some people can infect others without ever falling sick themselves; others can be contagious for 48 hours before showing symptoms.
“We deal with underground parties and house bashes on a regular basis,” Kaiser said. “Sometimes you don’t hear about these on social media until it’s too late.”
Neighborhoods around universities remain a persistent problem. An outbreak has been identified among residents of student housing at Chapman University in Orange County. Since late August, more than 1,200 students at San Diego State University have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Large parties among families and friends at private homes are also a problem, with hosts even renting inflatable bounce houses.
“We’re talking about multiple families getting together at residences, having even Jolly Jumps up on the front yard or in the backyard; multiple cars lined up in the street. We’ve even had reports of actual live music bands in residences,” said Rigoberto Vargas, director of public health for Ventura County.
Officials have resorted to pleading with the public to take the worst global pandemic in a century more seriously.
“People are lowering their guards — going back to how they functioned before COVID-19, going to gatherings,” said San Diego County public health officer Dr. Wilma Wooten.
San Diego County is at risk of being forced by the state to close indoor dining rooms and indoor gyms and houses of worship if the transmission rate increases.
Gatherings are one of several reasons why Southern California remains stuck in a coronavirus limbo, experts say.
Transmission is likely occurring at workplaces where employees are closer together. And transmission may be greater in rural agricultural communities where migrant workers live in dense housing arrangements, as well as urban areas where low-income workers live in crowded homes and are less likely to be able to telecommute, said Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, medical epidemiologist and infectious diseases expert at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.
Long before the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, as well as many counties in the Central Valley, Salinas Valley and Imperial Valley, as ranking worse on a social vulnerability index. That means that factors such as poverty, a lack of access to transportation and crowded housing may weaken a community’s ability to prevent human suffering and financial loss in a disaster.
L.A. County faces special challenges as a diverse and populous county, with some of the most crowded census tracts in the nation, and with its sheer size of more than 10 million residents, Ferrer said. Those things can make it challenging to manage a complicated reopening strategy.
The county also has a fairly high rate of poverty and a large number of Latino residents, communities that have been hit disproportionately hard by the virus.
There are also political factors. In some parts of Southern California, there has been an explicit rejection of mask use, Kim-Farley said. In Huntington Beach, workers say they have had their fair share of customers refusing to wear masks, with some even tearing down signs promoting their use.
Which California counties are reopening? To contain the spread of COVID-19, parks, restaurants and stores are slowly reopening.
Unlike Southern California, the Bay Area has achieved vastly different results. Some contributing factors may be the differing response of local leaders and public sentiment.
Some Southern California politicians have been among those pushing the state to more rapidly loosen restrictions on businesses. By contrast, many health officials in the Bay Area have taken a decidedly slower approach, often retaining more restrictive rules even after state officials loosen them.
In San Francisco, Mayor London Breed credited residents for driving down the spread of the disease.
“I know they were tired of me, over and over, pretty much yelling at everyone and asking people to wear your mask, socially distance, cancel your events, don’t come together,” Breed told a local TV station. “The fact is: People actually listened.”
San Francisco is now in the state’s yellow tier, thanks in part to decreasing the disproportionate impact of the virus on the city’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods, state officials said. The yellow tier is the state’s least restrictive on its four-part color-coded reopening plan, allowing wide swaths of businesses to resume operations.
Some experts have also speculated that people in the Bay Area tend to adhere to health rules more than in other places.
The area’s poorly performing sports teams may have also assisted earlier this year when the pandemic first struck the region. Epidemiologists credited the San Francisco 49ers’ loss at the Super Bowl — and the resulting failure to have a victory parade — as a big reason why the Bay Area may have escaped a worse first wave of the pandemic in the spring.
State officials announced last week they will devote more resources to Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, including increasing mobile testing and helping those infected to isolate themselves while they recover. They said similar strategies helped tamp down a surge in the Central Valley earlier this year.
Health officials are worried that Thanksgiving and Christmas could transform into superspreader events if people don’t cancel large gatherings or, at a minimum, take precautions. New state minimum requirements allow for only small outside gatherings of no more than three households, keeping guests six feet apart, wearing masks when not eating or drinking, serving food in single-serve disposable containers and limiting events to no more than two hours.
Times staff writers Luke Money, Maura Dolan and Stephanie Lai contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-10-27--Southern California Edison lines may have sparked massive Silverado fire in Irvine

Southern California Edison said it is investigating whether electrical equipment may have caused the Silverado fire , which has burned more than 7,200 acres in Irvine and caused more than 60,000 to flee their homes .
In a brief report to the state Public Utilities Commission , Edison said it appeared that a “ lashing wire ” attached to a third-party telecommunications line may have struck a primary conductor , and an investigation was underway .
No cause of the fire has yet been determined .
The blaze broke out shortly after 6:45 a.m. Monday in the brush country around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Santa Ana winds pushed it west to the suburban edge of Irvine and Lake Forest .
By Tuesday morning , more than 70,000 people were under evacuation orders in the foothills .
Two firefighters on hand crews were severely burned as they battled the flames , according to Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy .
The firefighters , ages 26 and 31 , were both intubated after suffering second- and third-degree burns over half their bodies , Fennessy said .
Malfunctioning electrical systems have been a cause of some of California @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2018 Camp fire in Paradise that killed 85 and destroyed thousands of homes .
Pacific Gas & Electric said its lines sparked that fire amid heavy winds .
PG & E filed for bankruptcy because of loses from that fire and others that swept through wine country in 2017 .
Earlier this year , Edison said it was investigating whether its lines caused the Bobcat fire in the San Gabriel Mountains .
That blaze , which has been burning for more than a month , is nearly contained .

Cars line Santiago Canyon Road near the point of origin of the Silverado fire that started early Monday.
Southern California Edison said it is investigating whether electrical equipment may have caused the Silverado fire, which has burned more than 7,200 acres in Irvine and caused more than 60,000 to flee their homes.
In a brief report to the state Public Utilities Commission, Edison said it appeared that a “lashing wire” attached to a third-party telecommunications line may have struck a primary conductor, and an investigation was underway.
No cause of the fire has yet been determined.
The blaze broke out shortly after 6:45 a.m. Monday in the brush country around Santiago Canyon and Silverado Canyon roads, as Santa Ana winds pushed it west to the suburban edge of Irvine and Lake Forest. By Tuesday morning, more than 70,000 people were under evacuation orders in the foothills.
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Two firefighters on hand crews were severely burned as they battled the flames, according to Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy.
The firefighters, ages 26 and 31, were both intubated after suffering second- and third-degree burns over half their bodies, Fennessy said.
Malfunctioning electrical systems have been a cause of some of California’s worst fires, including the 2018 Camp fire in Paradise that killed 85 and destroyed thousands of homes. Pacific Gas & Electric said its lines sparked that fire amid heavy winds.
PG&E filed for bankruptcy because of loses from that fire and others that swept through wine country in 2017.
Earlier this year, Edison said it was investigating whether its lines caused the Bobcat fire in the San Gabriel Mountains. That blaze, which has been burning for more than a month, is nearly contained.
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Times staff writer Alex Wigglesworth contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-10-27--Jackie Lacey is a longtime champion for mentally ill defendants. But do her reforms go far enough?

After years of frustration with a criminal justice system that seemed to favor incarceration over treatment of mentally ill defendants , Mark Gale said he found an ally in Los Angeles County Dist .
Atty .
Jackie Lacey .
Gale , whose son suffers from schizophrenia and had been arrested at least twice in the 2000s , says Lacey deserves credit for helping to conceive many of the programs that offer services to mentally ill defendants in L.A. County today .
A task force convened by Lacey led the Board of Supervisors to pump $ 120 million into housing and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a broader attempt to divert such defendants from the jail system that includes the creation of a countywide Office of Diversion & Re-Entry .
The district attorney ’ s office under Lacey has also launched or broadened a number of alternative sentencing courts that have benefited mentally ill defendants and trained thousands of law enforcement officers in crisis intervention .
“ In terms of mental health and reform , none of this would have happened had she not convened the county , ” said Gale , who is also the criminal justice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Illness ’ Los Angeles chapter .
Lacey has often touted her record on mental health as she tries to fend off a November challenge from former San Francisco Dist .
Atty .
George Gascón , who has run to her left as a criminal justice reformer and champion of reducing incarceration for a broad range of offenses .
But some critics say Lacey ’ s programs are not expansive enough and that many line prosecutors working in the nation ’ s largest local court and jail system have resisted their use .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — which aim to divert a wide range of nonviolent offenders including veterans , homeless defendants and those suffering from mental health or substance abuse issues from jail — processed 3,935 defendants between 2014 and February of this year , according to data provided by the district attorney ’ s office .
Defense attorneys argue that ’ s a drop in the bucket for an office that filed , on average , more than 100,000 misdemeanor cases each year in the same time frame , many of which they said involve alleged criminal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ therapy .
The county ’ s Office of Diversion and Re-Entry also provided “ permanent supportive housing ” to about 2,910 homeless or mentally ill defendants since its creation , Lacey ’ s office recently reported .
That number includes people who served jail time or had been sentenced to probation as a condition of entry into the program .
A Rand report published in January , meanwhile , found that more than half of all mentally ill people held in L.A. County jails would have been appropriate candidates for diversion programs .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ specifically mental health diversion , are all very good and progressive and noble , ” said defense attorney Damon Alimouri .
“ But in my experience , and in speaking with my colleagues , both public defenders and private criminal defense attorneys , the D.A.
’ s office by and large vigorously opposes defense applications or requests for alternative sentencing or mental health diversion.
” Some have also criticized Lacey ’ s prosecutors for repeatedly opposing applications for diversion filed under a new state law that allows judges to order treatment for defendants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mental disorder .
The district attorney ’ s office has received 840 such petitions ; 280 , roughly 33 % , have been granted , said Deputy Dist .
Atty .
Gilbert Wright , who leads the mental health unit .
Lacey says the diversion numbers tell only a fraction of the story .
Programs born out of the countywide mental health advisory board she convened in 2015 have also provided treatment to roughly 2,700 defendants found incompetent to stand trial , the D.A .
's report said .
Those defendants would have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to competency .
More than 8,000 Los Angeles police officers and sheriff ’ s deputies have also been trained in de-escalation or crisis intervention through the district attorney ’ s office , the report said .
Lacey said access to diversion programs is stymied by limited resources .
“ A lot of the people recommended for pre-trial diversion are folks that have stabbed somebody , or have demonstrated in the instant crime that there ’ s a danger there .
So that ’ s why we need more places to safely divert , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Department of Mental Health would get on board , quickly , we would have more places .
You would see those diversion numbers increase.
” Lacey says she first became focused on improving dealings with mentally ill defendants as a line prosecutor , after seeing one too many cases in which someone suffering a mental health episode wound up in jail .
She recalled that in 2011 , she was contacted by a woman whose daughter was arrested for carjacking while experiencing a mental health crisis .
The woman was having delusions that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , so she jumped into a vehicle and tried to flee .
Despite having no criminal record and clearly being in crisis , the woman was forced to plead guilty to a crime in order to gain access to treatment , according to Lacey , who said the case has always haunted her .
“ She was a very bright person , a bright college student .
I always thought there should be another alternative to someone like that , ” Lacey said .
“ I actually contacted her way after the case @ @ @ @ @ @ @ am I supposed to tell a future employer ?
” But Nikhil Ramnaney , the head of the union representing L.A. county public defenders , said prosecutors frequently object to mental health diversion petitions on public safety grounds , regardless of the facts of a case .
He recently represented a schizophrenic Long Beach resident who had been charged with elder abuse for attacking his mother .
The two got into an altercation during an argument over the man ’ s refusal to take his medicine , and his mother suffered a broken @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to stand trial .
While in a state hospital , he resumed his regular medical regimen and his symptoms abated , Ramnaney said .
But when the case returned to court , a prosecutor opposed diversion , citing the risk to his mother , and insisted on a plea that would result in prison time , Ramnaney said .
Ramnaney said the defendant ’ s mother was opposed to the prosecutor ’ s position and had initially hesitated even contacting police for fear of how her son ’ s case might proceed through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no question about the necessity or that [ treatment ] is effective .
We know that when he ’ s on his medication , he does better .
We know that in a structured residential setting , he does better .
We know that ’ s what the victim wants , ” Ramnaney said .
“ But they want prison … what is the value of prison in this case ?
” Alimouri said he represented a schizophrenic graduate student who last year began to suffer delusions of a romantic connection with one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the man was arrested for violating a restraining order and charged with felony stalking when he approached the woman at her office , though the case was dismissed at a preliminary hearing .
Prosecutors later refiled the case .
Alimouri ’ s diversion petition was opposed by a line prosecutor before being approved by a judge .
Even though Alimouri ’ s client managed to receive diversion , he said the constant objections make him wonder how many other such petitions are granted over the wishes of the district attorney ’ s office @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the prosecutor in Alimouri ’ s case should not have opposed diversion .
She and others are trying to shift a culture within the office that had long been too focused on convictions as a metric of success , she said .
“ I ’ m leading a change , a national change , where we look at these things differently and do some things different and it takes time , ” she said .
“ You don ’ t necessarily dictate a change of heart , but you lead people.
” Though @ @ @ @ @ @ @ improvement , Gale believes Lacey has proved herself an effective change agent when it comes to the county ’ s approach to mental health diversion .
Gale ’ s son began to suffer from bipolar disorder as a teen and had been arrested twice before Lacey was elected .
Outside of a small program run by the county , Gale said he doesn ’ t like thinking about the limited options his son once faced .
“ There was nothing .
Nothing .
There was jail , there was prison .
There was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That was it .
”

After years of frustration with a criminal justice system that seemed to favor incarceration over treatment of mentally ill defendants, Mark Gale said he found an ally in Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey.
Gale, whose son suffers from schizophrenia and had been arrested at least twice in the 2000s, says Lacey deserves credit for helping to conceive many of the programs that offer services to mentally ill defendants in L.A. County today.
A task force convened by Lacey led the Board of Supervisors to pump $120 million into housing and resources for the mentally ill, part of a broader attempt to divert such defendants from the jail system that includes the creation of a countywide Office of Diversion & Re-Entry. The district attorney’s office under Lacey has also launched or broadened a number of alternative sentencing courts that have benefited mentally ill defendants and trained thousands of law enforcement officers in crisis intervention.
Advertisement
“In terms of mental health and reform, none of this would have happened had she not convened the county,” said Gale, who is also the criminal justice coordinator for the National Alliance on Mental Illness’ Los Angeles chapter.
Lacey has often touted her record on mental health as she tries to fend off a November challenge from former San Francisco Dist. Atty. George Gascón, who has run to her left as a criminal justice reformer and champion of reducing incarceration for a broad range of offenses.
But some critics say Lacey’s programs are not expansive enough and that many line prosecutors working in the nation’s largest local court and jail system have resisted their use.
The county’s nine alternative sentencing courts — which aim to divert a wide range of nonviolent offenders including veterans, homeless defendants and those suffering from mental health or substance abuse issues from jail — processed 3,935 defendants between 2014 and February of this year, according to data provided by the district attorney’s office.
Defense attorneys argue that’s a drop in the bucket for an office that filed, on average, more than 100,000 misdemeanor cases each year in the same time frame, many of which they said involve alleged criminal behavior that would be better deterred by therapy.
The county’s Office of Diversion and Re-Entry also provided “permanent supportive housing” to about 2,910 homeless or mentally ill defendants since its creation, Lacey’s office recently reported. That number includes people who served jail time or had been sentenced to probation as a condition of entry into the program.
A Rand report published in January, meanwhile, found that more than half of all mentally ill people held in L.A. County jails would have been appropriate candidates for diversion programs.
Advertisement
“In theory, these laws, specifically mental health diversion, are all very good and progressive and noble,” said defense attorney Damon Alimouri. “But in my experience, and in speaking with my colleagues, both public defenders and private criminal defense attorneys, the D.A.’s office by and large vigorously opposes defense applications or requests for alternative sentencing or mental health diversion.”
Some have also criticized Lacey’s prosecutors for repeatedly opposing applications for diversion filed under a new state law that allows judges to order treatment for defendants whose offense was driven largely by their mental disorder. The district attorney’s office has received 840 such petitions; 280, roughly 33%, have been granted, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Gilbert Wright, who leads the mental health unit.
Lacey says the diversion numbers tell only a fraction of the story. Programs born out of the countywide mental health advisory board she convened in 2015 have also provided treatment to roughly 2,700 defendants found incompetent to stand trial, the D.A.’s report said. Those defendants would have otherwise languished in jail until being restored to competency. More than 8,000 Los Angeles police officers and sheriff’s deputies have also been trained in de-escalation or crisis intervention through the district attorney’s office, the report said.
Lacey said access to diversion programs is stymied by limited resources.
“A lot of the people recommended for pre-trial diversion are folks that have stabbed somebody, or have demonstrated in the instant crime that there’s a danger there. So that’s why we need more places to safely divert,” she said. “If the Department of Mental Health would get on board, quickly, we would have more places. You would see those diversion numbers increase.”
Lacey says she first became focused on improving dealings with mentally ill defendants as a line prosecutor, after seeing one too many cases in which someone suffering a mental health episode wound up in jail.
She recalled that in 2011, she was contacted by a woman whose daughter was arrested for carjacking while experiencing a mental health crisis. The woman was having delusions that someone was chasing her in Los Angeles, so she jumped into a vehicle and tried to flee. Despite having no criminal record and clearly being in crisis, the woman was forced to plead guilty to a crime in order to gain access to treatment, according to Lacey, who said the case has always haunted her.
“She was a very bright person, a bright college student. I always thought there should be another alternative to someone like that,” Lacey said. “I actually contacted her way after the case, and she asked me, what am I supposed to tell a future employer?”
But Nikhil Ramnaney, the head of the union representing L.A. county public defenders, said prosecutors frequently object to mental health diversion petitions on public safety grounds, regardless of the facts of a case.
He recently represented a schizophrenic Long Beach resident who had been charged with elder abuse for attacking his mother. The two got into an altercation during an argument over the man’s refusal to take his medicine, and his mother suffered a broken nose.
The defendant was declared incompetent to stand trial. While in a state hospital, he resumed his regular medical regimen and his symptoms abated, Ramnaney said. But when the case returned to court, a prosecutor opposed diversion, citing the risk to his mother, and insisted on a plea that would result in prison time, Ramnaney said.
Ramnaney said the defendant’s mother was opposed to the prosecutor’s position and had initially hesitated even contacting police for fear of how her son’s case might proceed through the courts.
“There’s no question about the necessity or that [treatment] is effective. We know that when he’s on his medication, he does better. We know that in a structured residential setting, he does better. We know that’s what the victim wants,” Ramnaney said. “But they want prison … what is the value of prison in this case?”
Alimouri said he represented a schizophrenic graduate student who last year began to suffer delusions of a romantic connection with one of his professors. Court records show the man was arrested for violating a restraining order and charged with felony stalking when he approached the woman at her office, though the case was dismissed at a preliminary hearing.
Prosecutors later refiled the case. Alimouri’s diversion petition was opposed by a line prosecutor before being approved by a judge. Even though Alimouri’s client managed to receive diversion, he said the constant objections make him wonder how many other such petitions are granted over the wishes of the district attorney’s office.
In an interview, Lacey suggested the prosecutor in Alimouri’s case should not have opposed diversion. She and others are trying to shift a culture within the office that had long been too focused on convictions as a metric of success, she said.
“I’m leading a change, a national change, where we look at these things differently and do some things different and it takes time,” she said. “You don’t necessarily dictate a change of heart, but you lead people.”
Though he admits there may be room for improvement, Gale believes Lacey has proved herself an effective change agent when it comes to the county’s approach to mental health diversion. Gale’s son began to suffer from bipolar disorder as a teen and had been arrested twice before Lacey was elected.
Outside of a small program run by the county, Gale said he doesn’t like thinking about the limited options his son once faced.
“There was nothing. Nothing. There was jail, there was prison. There was acquittal,” he said. “That was it.”


latimes--2020-10-27--Immigration fact check:  'Who built the cages?'

After months of seemingly ignoring the issue of immigration , President Trump and Joe Biden faced tough questions in last week ’ s debate about their past policies .
One moment that stood out was an extended discussion of the Trump administration ’ s fraught “ zero-tolerance ” policy that resulted in the separation of an estimated 4,000 children from their parents at the Southern U.S. border .
Prior to the debate , news reports surfaced that the federal government still couldn ’ t find the parents of 545 children separated during a pilot program that predates the “ zero-tolerance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ effect in May 2018 .
During the sharp exchange , which was prompted by a question about the missing children posed by moderator Kristen Welker , Trump and Biden fired allegations at each other about which administration started the family separation process , who “ built the cages , ” and others .
The back-and-forth left many viewers confused .
Here are the facts .
When asked about the 545 parents separated from their children , Trump said the “ children are brought here by coyotes [ human smugglers ] and lots of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are brought here and they used to use them to get into our country.
” Is he correct ?
No .
Federal court filings show that their adoptive or biological parents brought the children in question to the United States .
Children who are brought over without their parents , by smugglers , are often classified as “ unaccompanied minors ” and are not included in the group the moderator asked about .
“ They did it .
We changed the policy and they built the cages .
We did not build the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the cages ?
The Obama administration did build the cages Trump alluded to .
The facility Trump mentioned was built with chain-link fencing by the Obama administration in 2014 in a warehouse in Nogales , Ariz .
The makeshift shelter was built in response to an exodus of unaccompanied immigrant children from Central America .
But those children did not arrive with their parents ; they were unaccompanied .
The shelter was not being used as part of a child separation policy , and U.S. border agents did not separate those children from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ separate families at the southern U.S. border ?
Yes , U.S. border officials did separate children from their parents on occasion , but it was not as widespread or systematic as it became under the Trump administration , particularly during its “ zero-tolerance policy , ” which was meant to deter migrants from seeking refuge in the U.S. What was the “ zero-tolerance ” policy ?
The policy directed U.S. prosecutors to criminally charge everyone who crossed the border without inspection .
Parents were then separated from their children when they were taken @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were deported to their countries of origin — mostly to El Salvador , Guatemala and Honduras .
Trump scrapped the policy in June 2018 after a massive public outcry .
But separations still occurred under other policies ( see below ) .
Who is looking for the 545 parents separated from their children ?
Trump said the U.S. government is “ working on it ” and “ trying very hard ” to find the parents .
Is that true ?
No .
Although a federal court compelled the federal government to provide contact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are not doing the searching .
Instead , the federal court appointed a steering committee of nongovernment organizations , including the American Civil Liberties Union and Justice In Motion , because the U.S. government refused to conduct a search .
The Trump administration also kept poor records , which further exacerbated the situation , according to a Department of Homeland Security ’ s inspector general report .
Where are the children of the more than 500 parents who are being sought ?
Biden said the “ kids are alone ” with “ nowhere @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in clean facilities and well taken care of .
Who ’ s right ?
Neither .
The children are no longer in U.S. detention centers .
Instead , they are with extended family members in the U.S. or with foster families .
Did family separations at the Southern border stop after Trump did away with the “ zero-tolerance ” policy ?
No , between 1,100 and 1,200 children were separated after the policy was scrapped in 2018 .
Federal officials still separated children from their parents for different reasons , such as doubt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and their parent or if the accompanying adult had any sort of criminal record — including minor violations and arrests — in the U.S. or their country of origin .
Immigration rights activists and lawyers argued in court that the separations were unlawful and accused the administration of exploiting loopholes to continue to separate families in a 2019 lawsuit .
In court filings , the ACLU said the administration used allegations of criminality or even mere suspicion to justify family separations .

Women and children sit in a holding cell at a Border Patrol processing center after being detained by agents near the U.S.-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas.
After months of seemingly ignoring the issue of immigration, President Trump and Joe Biden faced tough questions in last week’s debate about their past policies.
One moment that stood out was an extended discussion of the Trump administration’s fraught “zero-tolerance” policy that resulted in the separation of an estimated 4,000 children from their parents at the southern U.S. border.
Prior to the debate, news reports surfaced that the federal government still couldn’t find the parents of 545 children separated during a pilot program that predates the “zero-tolerance” policy the Trump administration put into effect in May 2018.
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During the sharp exchange, which was prompted by a question about the missing children posed by moderator Kristen Welker, Trump and Biden fired allegations at each other about which administration started the family separation process, who “built the cages,” and others.
The back-and-forth left many viewers confused. Here are the facts.
When asked about the 545 parents separated from their children, Trump said the “children are brought here by coyotes [human smugglers] and lots of bad people, cartels — and they are brought here and they used to use them to get into our country.” Is he correct?
No. Federal court filings show that their adoptive or biological parents brought the children in question to the United States. Children who are brought over without their parents, by smugglers, are often classified as “unaccompanied minors” and are not included in the group the moderator asked about.
“They did it. We changed the policy and they built the cages. We did not build the cages.” Did the Obama administration build the cages?
The Obama administration did build the cages Trump alluded to. The facility Trump mentioned was built with chain-link fencing by the Obama administration in 2014 in a warehouse in Nogales, Ariz. The makeshift shelter was built in response to an exodus of unaccompanied immigrant children from Central America. But those children did not arrive with their parents; they were unaccompanied. The shelter was not being used as part of a child separation policy, and U.S. border agents did not separate those children from their parents.
Did the Obama administration separate families at the southern U.S. border?
Yes, U.S. border officials did separate children from their parents on occasion, but it was not as widespread or systematic as it became under the Trump administration, particularly during its “zero-tolerance policy,” which was meant to deter migrants from seeking refuge in the U.S.
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What was the “zero-tolerance” policy?
The policy directed U.S. prosecutors to criminally charge everyone who crossed the border without inspection. Parents were then separated from their children when they were taken into custody. Many of these parents were deported to their countries of origin — mostly to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Trump scrapped the policy in June 2018 after a massive public outcry. But separations still occurred under other policies (see below).
Who is looking for the 545 parents separated from their children? Trump said the U.S. government is “working on it” and “trying very hard” to find the parents. Is that true?
No. Although a federal court compelled the administration to provide contact information for the parents, U.S. officials are not doing the searching. Instead, the court appointed a steering committee of nongovernment organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union and Justice In Motion, because the U.S. government refused to conduct a search. The Trump administration kept poor records, which exacerbated the situation, according to a Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general report.
Where are the children of the more than 500 parents who are being sought? Biden said the “kids are alone” with “nowhere to go.” Trump said they are in clean facilities and well taken care of. Who’s right?
Neither. The children are no longer in U.S. detention centers; they are with extended family members in the U.S. or with foster families.
Did family separations at the southern border stop after Trump did away with the “zero-tolerance” policy?
No, between 1,100 and 1,200 children were separated after the policy was scrapped in 2018. Federal officials still separated children from their parents for different reasons, such as doubt about the familial relationship between a child and their parent or if the accompanying adult had any sort of criminal record — including minor violations and arrests — in the U.S. or their country of origin.
Immigration rights activists and lawyers argued in court in a 2019 lawsuit that the separations were unlawful and accused the administration of exploiting loopholes to continue to separate families. In court filings, the ACLU said the administration used allegations of criminality or even mere suspicion to justify family separations.


latimes--2020-10-27--Orange County fires burn more than 27,000 acres, as some Irvine evacuation orders are lifted

Ash swirled , and the stench of smoke hung in the air Tuesday as a light haze settled over southern Orange County .
Cars lined Glenn Ranch Road as motorists paused to watch smoke billowing from a cluster of hills in the direction of Silverado Canyon Road .
At least two firefighting planes circled the area .
A firetruck blared its siren down the hill .
It had been barely 24 hours since a pair of wind-driven wildfires ignited and encroaching flames forced 100,000 residents to flee their homes .
The first , the Silverado fire , broke out shortly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country around Santiago Canyon and Silverado Canyon roads .
By 2 p.m. Tuesday , firefighters had achieved 5 % containment on the blaze , which had burned through more than 12,000 acres — sparing structures but injuring five firefighters , including two who were critically burned .
The firefighters , ages 26 and 31 , were placed on ventilators after suffering second- and third-degree burns over half their bodies .
They “ remain in critical condition , fighting for their lives , with their families by their sides , ” Orange County Fire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fennessy said the firefighters ’ families had received an outpouring of support , including notes , emails and texts from all over the country , but it was “ tough for any firefighter — certainly any fire chief — to feel this helpless.
” Hours after the Silverado fire ignited , the Blue Ridge fire erupted in Santa Ana Canyon — a notorious wind tunnel said to have given the blustery Santa Anas their name .
The flames spread quickly as the fire pushed west toward Yorba Linda , threatening the town ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ p.m. Tuesday , the blaze had surpassed its predecessor , engulfing more than 15,000 acres and damaging at least 10 homes .
Firefighters had not been able to achieve any containment on the growing blaze .
The two fires spurred multiple evacuation orders and warnings , but the city of Irvine on Tuesday afternoon was beginning to allow some evacuees to return home , as dangerous winds began to subside .
Residents can refer to the O.C .
emergency public information map to check the status of their neighborhoods .
Gov .
Gavin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a fire management assistance grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that will allow the state to receive 75 % reimbursements for firefighting efforts related to the Silverado and Blue Ridge fires .
The grant is provided through the president ’ s Disaster Relief Fund on a cost-share basis .
“ I want to thank FEMA and our partners at the federal level for their support , ” Newsom said .
He said 42 fires had ignited across the state in the previous 24 hours , many fueled by fierce winds .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fire Protection , along with local firefighting agencies , for their quick work in suppressing most of the blazes .
“ We talk in historic terms , ” he said , “ and I remind you that six of the top 20 wildfires in our state ’ s history have occurred in 2020.
” More than 4 million acres have burned this year , and wildfires across the state have resulted in at least 30 fatalities , he said .
“ This is absolutely a large mutual-aid fire , a lot of resources @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Orange County Fire Authority Capt .
Jason Fairchild said Tuesday , noting that more than 1,700 firefighters are battling the two blazes .
“ And we have additional resources coming in from farther away.
” Facing flames that could threaten multiple homes at once amid the county ’ s suburban sprawl , firefighters have been relying on their engines ’ 500-gallon water tanks instead of connecting to hydrants so the crews aren ’ t “ anchored down , ” Fairchild said .
If the water supply were to become an issue , many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that would allow them to pull water from homeowners ’ pools , he said .
The strong winds fueling the blazes were expected to dissipate Tuesday afternoon , although a red flag warning remains in effect in Orange County until 6 p.m. , said Casey Oswant , meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego .
Despite slowing gusts , she said , people should not “ completely relax , ” as dryness is still a concern across the region .
“ Definitely avoid burning if necessary , and if you see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Oswant said .
“ The threat is definitely still there , even though the winds are coming down.
” Monday ’ s combination of intense winds and low humidity were considered some of the most dangerous fire weather conditions of the year .
The weather service reported gusts of 96 mph in the San Gabriel Mountains just south of Santa Clarita .
The winds also carried ash and soot left from the Bobcat fire earlier this month back into the skies , further choking Southern California with bad air .
By Tuesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quality monitoring agency had reported that Southern California had the worst air quality in the nation , with parts of Los Angeles and Orange counties and the city of Corona all hovering in the “ unhealthy ” range .
The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a smoke advisory for Orange County through Tuesday .
It also issued a windblown dust and ash advisory in Los Angeles , Orange , San Bernardino and Riverside counties , warning that hazardous particulate matter from wildfire areas may be spread through the air .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ warn customers in all of Los Angeles and Ventura counties , except for the Antelope Valley , that power could be shut off to lower the chances of fires being sparked by downed power lines .
As of Tuesday afternoon , about 14,520 customers were without power , mostly in San Bernardino County .
An additional 1,600 remained under consideration for a preemptive shutoff , according to Edison ’ s website .
The strong winds hindered firefighting efforts on Monday ; water-dropping aircraft had to be pulled off the Silverado blaze around 10:30 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the afternoon .
In Irvine , many parks remained closed .
UC Irvine said Monday it was suspending campus operations through Tuesday .
For Orange County residents in the paths of the fires , Monday and Tuesday were spent fleeing the fires or preparing to do so .
Marc Church , 63 , joined a row of passersby who were snapping photos of the burning canyon Tuesday .
The smoke had lessened from the previous day , he said , motioning to the hills , where patches of charred black peeked through the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Viejo , where he moved a year and a half ago from Irvine because his wife wanted to be closer to the hills .
Now , they fear the wind could carry burning embers and ignite their backyard .
“ It ’ s a risk whenever you move near these hills , ” he said .
The family had packed a few boxes of important documents — car titles , birth certificates , bank information — and spent the morning gathering other necessities , including clothes , computers and chargers .
They took @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said , and awoke to voluntary evacuations and the sound of helicopters circling overhead .
“ We didn ’ t get a lot of sleep , ” Church said , adding that if the evacuation orders became mandatory , they would load up the car .
“ If we have to go , we ’ ll have to go.
” A similarly frightening scene had unfolded Monday , when trash cans and palm fronds were swept along empty streets in evacuated neighborhoods .
Lana Salameh , 45 , had just dropped off @ @ @ @ @ @ @ returned home in Irvine ’ s Eastwood community when she realized the sky was a dull orange .
Trees were falling from heavy winds , and smoke was seeping into the house , but she had not been informed that school was canceled .
She hustled back to Eastwood Elementary School to grab her 9-year-old daughter , Farah Abdelbari , whose tears were soaking her pink mask .
She then picked up her 11-year-old son , Omar .
“ They were scared .
It wasn ’ t easy , ” Salameh said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ we had to leave.
” They grabbed their passports and some bananas before arriving at an evacuation center set up at Quail Hill Community Center , which was reaching capacity .
Inside , about 30 people sat at socially distanced desks ; small dogs were tied to table legs .
Many people were searching laptops for news reports of the fires .
Salameh ’ s children got to work on school assignments .
Esther Lee , 55 , and dozens of others waited in the parking lot for spots to open inside .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ at her home in Lake Forest around 9:30 a.m. when she received a mandatory evacuation notice .
Looking outside , she saw palm trees bending hard in the wind and smoke pouring down from the hill .
She knew what she had to do .
Lee rushed to put important documents in her car and drove to a nearby park to coordinate with other family members .
“ We didn ’ t have much time , and I didn ’ t want to stay too long , ” Lee said .
“ We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because the winds can be so unpredictable.
” Pat McGrath , 78 , was making breakfast when a stranger pounded on her front door to inform her of the evacuation orders .
The Irvine woman has no family on the West Coast .
“ I just panicked .
I started crying , ” McGrath said .
“ I ’ m cold , I ’ m hungry , I ’ m stressed , and I don ’ t know what to do.
” Her voice was faint as she reclined into her seat at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ beige cardigan draped over her .
“ I was hoping there would be food or water , but I only got a bottle of water from a woman here earlier , ” she said .
“ There ’ s a fountain down the hall , but I forgot my cane , and my legs don ’ t work too well .
I think your body doesn ’ t work as well when you ’ re stressed.
” Lorraine Elewaut ’ s firefighter brother called from Washington on Monday , when the Silverado fire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Skyridge home .
“ You need to have your emergency kit ready , ” he admonished her .
His call , and the howling winds , kept the 67-year-old up all night while her husband , Bob , 75 , slept soundly .
In the morning , a call from the Orange County Fire Authority about voluntary evacuations prompted Elewaut to fly into action .
She packed birth certificates , lease agreements and “ of course , the photos.
” “ It made me realize how little prepared I was , ” she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Elewauts have kept a robust store of supplies , but Lorraine said she found necessities scattered around the house .
Her brother called again Tuesday morning with another cautioning message , and a laugh : “ Don ’ t forget to pack the alcohol.
” John Lologo , 49 , fiddled in his garage in the Yorba Linda neighborhood of Country Hills , which was under voluntary evacuation orders Tuesday afternoon .
Blackened palm fronds had blown in and lined his driveway , and clumps of ash floated to the ground .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ plumes billowed from the hills where the Blue Ridge fire was burning .
Lologo said he took a drive through Riverside on Tuesday morning and saw flames leaping over the Chino hills .
Soon after he returned home , local authorities knocked on his door to announce voluntary evacuations .
Lologo had planned a trip to Utah to coach a softball game Friday , so his bags were already packed .
But he doesn ’ t expect to leave before then .
“ I ’ m not going to leave until it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ ll probably stay , ” he said .
“ I ’ m far enough away from everything that even if it burns down to the end of the block , I don ’ t perceive too much happening this side of the street.
” Adriana Cruz and her daughter Roxana , 11 , had to evacuate their Yorba Linda home and stayed in a hotel Monday night .
With the two of them , and their lumbering dog , Jacqs , penned up in a crate , the room was crowded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the OC Animal Care shelter in Tustin , which was welcoming evacuees ’ small animals .
Jacqs would stay Tuesday night while Cruz and her daughter waited to learn more about their neighborhood .
The whole process was “ confusing , ” Cruz said while wiping out the dog ’ s crate with a towel .
As for when the family could return home , Cruz shook her head .
Times staff writers Joseph Serna , Alex Wigglesworth , Andrew Campa , Alejandra Reyes-Velarde and Joe Mozingo contributed to this report .

Faith E. Pinho, Hayley Smith, Ruben Vives, Stephanie Lai

A wind-driven blaze, dubbed the Silverado fire, sparked around 6:45 a.m. Monday morning and is spreading at a “moderate” speed in the area of Santiago Canyon and Silverado Canyon roads in Orange County. (KTLA)
A deer navigates through the smoke of the Silverado fire that broke out in Orange County on Monday morning. (OnScene.TV)
Orange County Fire Authority firefighters monitor the Silverado fire, which is threatening communities in Irvine. (OnScene.TV)
The Silverado fire broke out in Orange County on Monday morning, threatening communities and forcing residents from their homes. (OnScene.TV)
Orange County Fire Authority firefighters do structure protection for homes in the Orchard Hills neighborhood of Irvine as the Silverado fire continues to burn. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Orange County Fire Authority firefighters have to look away because of the gusty, hot wind, debris and approaching flames while defending homes from the Silverado fire in the Orchard Hills neighborhood of Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A firefighter sustained second- and third-degree burns near Santiago Canyon Road and Limestone Spur fighting the Silverado fire and was transported to a nearby trauma center. (OnScene.TV)
Orange County Fire Authority firefighters defend homes as the Silverado fire approaches the Orchard Hills neighborhood of Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
An Orange County Fire Authority firefighter stands ready to defend a home as the Silverado fire approaches the Orchard Hills neighborhood of Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A water truck operator is overcome after running through thick smoke from the advancing Silverado fire in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Firetrucks convoy through thick smoke on the 241 Freeway to battle the advancing Silverado fire. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Firetrucks convoy through thick smoke on Portola Parkway to battle the advancing Silverado fire. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A water truck operator runs through the thick smoke of the advancing Silverado fire at the 241 Freeway and Portola Parkway in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A hot spot flares in the Silverado fire at the 241 Freeway and Portola Parkway in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
An air tanker drops fire retardant on a ridge near the Green River Golf Club in Corona. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
A firefighter hoses down a home in Yorba Linda that was ablaze due to the Blue Ridge fire Monday. (OnScene.TV)
A bicyclist takes a look at fire activity on Via Lomas de Yorba amid the Blue Ridge fire in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Firefighter Raymond Vasquez fights the Silverado fire, fueled by Santa Ana winds, at the 241 Freeway and Portola Parkway in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Yorba Linda residents gather around an Orange County Fire Authority vehicle at the intersection of Fairmont Boulevard and San Antonio Road, inquiring about the Blue Ridge fire that was burning close to their homes. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
A flare-up fills the sky with smoke from the Silverado fire burning in Irvine on Tuesday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A firefighting helicopter makes a drop on the Silverado fire, which has been fanned by gusty Santa Ana winds for a second day in the Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park in Lake Forest. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The sun shines through smoke in the air Tuesday in Chino Hills. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Firefighters make their way up a hill through smoke Tuesday in Chino Hills. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Ash swirled, and the stench of smoke hung in the air Tuesday as a light haze settled over southern Orange County. Cars lined Glenn Ranch Road as motorists paused to watch smoke billowing from a cluster of hills in the direction of Silverado Canyon Road.
At least two firefighting planes circled the area. A firetruck blared its siren down the hill.
It had been barely 24 hours since a pair of wind-driven wildfires ignited and encroaching flames forced 100,000 residents to flee their homes.
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The first, the Silverado fire, broke out shortly after 6:45 a.m. Monday in the brush country around Santiago Canyon and Silverado Canyon roads. By 8 p.m. Tuesday, firefighters had achieved 5% containment on the blaze, which had burned through more than 13,000 acres — sparing structures but injuring five firefighters, including two who were critically burned.
The firefighters, ages 26 and 31, were placed on ventilators after suffering second- and third-degree burns over half their bodies. They “remain in critical condition, fighting for their lives, with their families by their sides,” Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy said Tuesday.
Fennessy said the firefighters’ families had received an outpouring of support, including notes, emails and texts from all over the country, but it was “tough for any firefighter — certainly any fire chief — to feel this helpless.”
Hours after the Silverado fire ignited, the Blue Ridge fire erupted in Santa Ana Canyon — a notorious wind tunnel said to have given the blustery Santa Anas their name.
The flames spread quickly as the fire pushed west toward Yorba Linda, threatening the town’s Hidden Hills community. By Tuesday evening, the blaze had surpassed its predecessor, engulfing more than 15,000 acres and damaging at least 10 homes. Firefighters had not been able to achieve any containment on the growing blaze.
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The two fires spurred multiple evacuation orders and warnings, but the city of Irvine on Tuesday afternoon was beginning to allow some evacuees to return home, as dangerous winds began to subside. Residents can refer to the O.C. emergency public information map to check the status of their neighborhoods.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday said California had received a fire management assistance grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that will allow the state to receive 75% reimbursements for firefighting efforts related to the Silverado and Blue Ridge fires. The grant is provided through the president’s Disaster Relief Fund on a cost-share basis.
“I want to thank FEMA and our partners at the federal level for their support,” Newsom said.
He said 42 fires had ignited across the state in the previous 24 hours, many fueled by fierce winds. He thanked the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, along with local firefighting agencies, for their quick work in suppressing most of the blazes.
“We talk in historic terms,” he said, “and I remind you that six of the top 20 wildfires in our state’s history have occurred in 2020.”
More than 4 million acres have burned this year, and wildfires across the state have resulted in at least 30 fatalities, he said.
“This is absolutely a large mutual-aid fire, a lot of resources from all over the state,” Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Jason Fairchild said Tuesday, noting that more than 1,700 firefighters are battling the two blazes. “And we have additional resources coming in from farther away.”
Facing flames that could threaten multiple homes at once amid the county’s suburban sprawl, firefighters have been relying on their engines’ 500-gallon water tanks instead of connecting to hydrants so the crews aren’t “anchored down,” Fairchild said.
If the water supply were to become an issue, many of the engines are outfitted with pumps that would allow them to pull water from homeowners’ pools, he said.
The strong winds fueling the blazes were expected to dissipate Tuesday afternoon, although a red flag warning remains in effect in Orange County until 6 p.m., said Casey Oswant, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego.
Despite slowing gusts, she said, people should not “completely relax,” as dryness is still a concern across the region.
“Definitely avoid burning if necessary, and if you see a fire, call the authorities,” Oswant said. “The threat is definitely still there, even though the winds are coming down.”
Firefighter Vince Valdivia is surrounded by heavy smoke as he battles the advancing Silverado fire at Highway 241 and Portola Parkway in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Monday’s combination of intense winds and low humidity were considered some of the most dangerous fire weather conditions of the year. The weather service reported gusts of 96 mph in the San Gabriel Mountains just south of Santa Clarita.
The winds also carried ash and soot left from the Bobcat fire earlier this month back into the skies, further choking Southern California with bad air.
By Tuesday morning, the government’s air quality monitoring agency had reported that Southern California had the worst air quality in the nation, with parts of Los Angeles and Orange counties and the city of Corona all hovering in the “unhealthy” range.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a smoke advisory for Orange County through Tuesday. It also issued a windblown dust and ash advisory in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, warning that hazardous particulate matter from wildfire areas may be spread through the air.
The windy conditions spurred Southern California Edison to warn customers in all of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, except for the Antelope Valley, that power could be shut off to lower the chances of fires being sparked by downed power lines.
As of Tuesday evening, about 5,500 customers remained without power, mostly in San Bernardino County.
A bicyclist takes a look at the activity on Via Lomas de Yorba during the Blue Ridge fire in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
The strong winds hindered firefighting efforts on Monday; water-dropping aircraft had to be pulled off the Silverado blaze around 10:30 a.m. The aircraft remained grounded through the afternoon.
In Irvine, many parks remained closed. UC Irvine said Monday it was suspending campus operations through Tuesday.
For Orange County residents in the paths of the fires, Monday and Tuesday were spent fleeing the fires or preparing to do so.
Marc Church, 63, joined a row of passersby who were snapping photos of the burning canyon Tuesday. The smoke had lessened from the previous day, he said, motioning to the hills, where patches of charred black peeked through the brown haze.
Church lives in Mission Viejo, where he moved a year and a half ago from Irvine because his wife wanted to be closer to the hills. Now, they fear the wind could carry burning embers and ignite their backyard.
“It’s a risk whenever you move near these hills,” he said.
The family had packed a few boxes of important documents — car titles, birth certificates, bank information — and spent the morning gathering other necessities, including clothes, computers and chargers. They took shifts sleeping and keeping watch overnight, he said, and awoke to voluntary evacuations and the sound of helicopters circling overhead.
“We didn’t get a lot of sleep,” Church said, adding that if the evacuation orders became mandatory, they would load up the car. “If we have to go, we’ll have to go.”
A similarly frightening scene had unfolded Monday, when trash cans and palm fronds were swept along empty streets in evacuated neighborhoods.
Lana Salameh, 45, had just dropped off her two youngest children at school and returned home in Irvine’s Eastwood community when she realized the sky was a dull orange. Trees were falling from heavy winds, and smoke was seeping into the house, but she had not been informed that school was canceled.
She hustled back to Eastwood Elementary School to grab her 9-year-old daughter, Farah Abdelbari, whose tears were soaking her pink mask. She then picked up her 11-year-old son, Omar.
“They were scared. It wasn’t easy,” Salameh said. “My kids were crying, but we had to leave.”
They grabbed their passports and some bananas before arriving at an evacuation center set up at Quail Hill Community Center, which was reaching capacity.
A fire spotter plane, left, peels off after marking the drop location for an air tanker while fighting the Blue Ridge fire in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Inside, about 30 people sat at socially distanced desks; small dogs were tied to table legs. Many people were searching laptops for news reports of the fires. Salameh’s children got to work on school assignments.
Esther Lee, 55, and dozens of others waited in the parking lot for spots to open inside.
Hours before, Lee had been packing at her home in Lake Forest around 9:30 a.m. when she received a mandatory evacuation notice. Looking outside, she saw palm trees bending hard in the wind and smoke pouring down from the hill. She knew what she had to do.
Lee rushed to put important documents in her car and drove to a nearby park to coordinate with other family members.
“We didn’t have much time, and I didn’t want to stay too long,” Lee said. “We’re just staying put for now because the winds can be so unpredictable.”
Pat McGrath, 78, was making breakfast when a stranger pounded on her front door to inform her of the evacuation orders. The Irvine woman has no family on the West Coast.
“I just panicked. I started crying,” McGrath said. “I’m cold, I’m hungry, I’m stressed, and I don’t know what to do.”
Her voice was faint as she reclined into her seat at the Quail Hill Community Center with a beige cardigan draped over her.
“I was hoping there would be food or water, but I only got a bottle of water from a woman here earlier,” she said. “There’s a fountain down the hall, but I forgot my cane, and my legs don’t work too well. I think your body doesn’t work as well when you’re stressed.”
Lorraine Elewaut’s firefighter brother called from Washington on Monday, when the Silverado fire burst into Irvine near the Elewauts’ Skyridge home.
“You need to have your emergency kit ready,” he admonished her.
His call, and the howling winds, kept the 67-year-old up all night while her husband, Bob, 75, slept soundly. In the morning, a call from the Orange County Fire Authority about voluntary evacuations prompted Elewaut to fly into action. She packed birth certificates, lease agreements and “of course, the photos.”
“It made me realize how little prepared I was,” she said.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Elewauts have kept a robust store of supplies, but Lorraine said she found necessities scattered around the house.
Her brother called again Tuesday morning with another cautioning message, and a laugh: “Don’t forget to pack the alcohol.”
John Lologo, 49, fiddled in his garage in the Yorba Linda neighborhood of Country Hills, which was under voluntary evacuation orders Tuesday afternoon.
Blackened palm fronds had blown in and lined his driveway, and clumps of ash floated to the ground. In the distance, three separate smoke plumes billowed from the hills where the Blue Ridge fire was burning.
Lologo said he took a drive through Riverside on Tuesday morning and saw flames leaping over the Chino hills. Soon after he returned home, local authorities knocked on his door to announce voluntary evacuations.
Lologo had planned a trip to Utah to coach a softball game Friday, so his bags were already packed. But he doesn’t expect to leave before then.
“I’m not going to leave until it’s mandatory, and even then, I’ll probably stay,” he said. “I’m far enough away from everything that even if it burns down to the end of the block, I don’t perceive too much happening this side of the street.”
Adriana Cruz and her daughter Roxana, 11, had to evacuate their Yorba Linda home and stayed in a hotel Monday night. With the two of them and their lumbering dog, Jacqs, penned up in a crate, the room was crowded.
The Cruz family brought Jacqs to the OC Animal Care shelter in Tustin, which was welcoming evacuees’ small animals. Jacqs would stay Tuesday night while Cruz and her daughter waited to learn more about their neighborhood.
The whole process was “confusing,” Cruz said while wiping out the dog’s crate with a towel.
As for when the family could return home, Cruz shook her head.
“We don’t know.”
Times staff writers Joseph Serna, Alex Wigglesworth, Alejandra Reyes-Velarde and Joe Mozingo contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-10-27--Photos: Orange County under siege by Silverado and Blue Ridge fires

Orange County Monday was under siege from two wind-driven brush fires that forced 90,000 people from their homes , critically @ @ @ @ @ many others on edge .

The Silverado and Blue Ridge fires have consumed more than 27,000 acres, but destruction to property has been relatively light. Officials said 10 homes were damaged in the Yorba Linda area. And by Tuesday afternoon, some of the massive evacuations in Irvine had been lifted.
An air tanker fighting the Blue Ridge fire makes a fire retardant drop Tuesday behind homes in Chino Hills. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)
Brandon Baker watches the Blue Ridge fire burn Tuesday in a canyon along Casino Ridge Road in Yorba Linda. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)
Herman Termeer watches the Blue Ridge fire burn in Chino Hills State Park on Tuesday from the roof of his home. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
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Firefighters working on the Blue Ridge fire conduct a backfire operation Tuesday at Chino Hills State Park in Chino Hills. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
People watch the Blue Ridge fire burn on Foxtail Drive in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
A homeowner watches flames burn a hillside near Foxtail Drive and Lotus Avenue in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
The hillside burns near Foxtail Drive and Lotus Avenue in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
A firefighter hoses down a home fire in Yorba Linda that was sparked Monday by the Blue Ridge fire. (OnScene.TV)
A water truck operator runs through the thick smoke of the advancing Silverado fire at the 241 Freeway and Portola Parkway in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A firefighter sustained second- and third-degree burns near Santiago Canyon Road and Limestone Spur fighting the Silverado fire. (OnScene.TV)
A bicyclist takes a look at the activity on Via Lomas de Yorba during the Blue Ridge fire in Yorba Linda. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Firetrucks convoy through thick smoke on the 241 Freeway to battle the Silverado fire, fueled by Santa Ana winds, in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
An air tanker drops fire retardant on a ridge near the Green River Golf Club in Corona. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Firefighter Raymond Vasquez fights the Silverado fire fueled by Santa Ana winds at the 241 Freeway and Portola Parkway in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Firefighters stand ready to protect structures in Irvine’s Orchard Hills neighborhood from the Silverado fire on Monday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A water truck operator is overcome after running through thick smoke from the advancing Silverado fire in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Firefighter Raymond Vasquez braves tall flames as he fights the advancing Silverado fire at the 241 Freeway and Portola Parkway in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The Silverado fire burns close to a home Monday in Irvine’s Orchard Hills neighborhood.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
As the Silverado fire approaches the Orchard Hills neighborhood of Irvine on Monday, firefighters with the Orange County Fire Authority stand ready to defend homes.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Firefighter Vince Valdivia is surrounded by heavy smoke as he battles the advancing Silverado fire in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
A wind gust drives smoke and debris toward firefighters protecting Irvine’s Orchard Hills neighborhood from the Silverado fire on Monday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)


latimes--2020-10-28--A Latino enclave in Huntington Beach fights to preserve its heritage and raise its clout

In a makeshift bedroom in a corner of his apartment ’ s living room , decorated with a religious altar , Hilario Herrera scrolled through his phone , staring fondly at photos and videos of festivities he hosted in his Huntington Beach neighborhood , when daily life felt less anxious .
There was the time he hosted El Grito , the traditional Mexican Independence Day cry , with mariachi for hundreds of people outside his home along Koledo Lane , in the historic Oak View neighborhood .
Or his all-time favorite event , an annual daylong celebration on Dec. 12 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Autumn was always the busy season for Herrera , one of the unofficial bookers for Oak View , a working-class Mexican enclave in Surf City whose roots reach back generations .
Now , uncertainty looms over the historic barrio , as the COVID-19 pandemic has further choked a neighborhood struggling to survive economically and preserve its culture in a city that has long neglected and ridiculed it as the “ Slater Slums , ” named after the street that cuts through it .
Oak View residents wonder whether there will be any fiestas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to avoid large gatherings and maintain social distance .
A few longtime dwellers such as Herrera , whose family — like many here — emigrated from the south-central Mexican state of Puebla , are thinking about quitting the U.S. altogether and moving back to their ancestral homeland .
“ I can ’ t do it all by myself anymore , ” said Herrera , 55 , who has had trouble getting hired to cater parties , after he lost his job as a soap factory worker .
He now ekes out a living @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Our neighborhood is rich with culture , but we don ’ t have any money.
” Yet other Oak View residents resolve to stay , adopting a different strategy : organize to gain political power for Latinos , who make up about 20 % of the city ’ s 199,000 residents , according to 2019 census figures .
Oscar Rodriguez and Victor Valladares started Oak View ComUNIDAD in 2015 to help mediate disputes between families doubled-up in apartments but also to document the physical changes to the neighborhood , as refurbished apartment complexes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The grassroots group broadcasts on social media the neighborhood ’ s tragedies and triumphs , such as its legal victory in getting the waste-disposal plant across the street from Oak View Elementary to enclose its facility and donate millions for a new gym and trees .
Rodriguez is running for a seat on the Huntington Beach City Council , with the endorsement of the Democratic Party of Orange County and the area ’ s congressman , Harley Rouda .
His platform focuses on helping residents who are food insecure during the pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ families , and investing in youth and small businesses .
( For a full list of the candidates running for Huntington Beach City Council , please visit https : //www.huntingtonbeachca.gov/files/users/city_clerk/Candidate-Contact-List.pdf . )
It ’ s “ not healthy , living with two , three families in apartment buildings , ” said the 26-year-old , who attributes his interest in politics to his father ’ s efforts to improve the Oak View playing fields used by Latino youth soccer teams .
“ It ’ s not the way you want to live.
” Rodriguez @ @ @ @ @ @ @ including two other Latinos .
If elected , he would be the first Latino elected to the council in recent memory , if not ever .
The square-mile neighborhood presents an alternative Huntington Beach to the postcard-fantasy town favored by sun worshippers and corporate hotel chains , and which has made national headlines in recent years for boisterous — and sometimes violent — right-wing demonstrations .
As the city grapples with struggling businesses , revenue shortfalls and homelessness , some Oak View residents have felt forced to leave their community and find cheaper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we ’ re facing a growing community with people without housing , ” said Laura Lavin , 48 , who was drawn to Huntington Beach after being priced out of East L.A. several years ago .
Said Valladares : “ I ’ d walk around with Laura and we ’ d see obvious telltale signs that these places are gon na be for sale , so we ’ d warn people and be on the lookout.
” Decades before Huntington Beach became emblematic of Southern California beach and right-wing culture , the city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communities .
Oak View overlaps with the remains of Wintersburg Village , a former Japanese enclave , including a mission and a former goldfish farm , that the National Trust for Historic Preservation recognizes as an endangered national treasure .
Mexicans who migrated into the region found themselves working in the village or nearby crop fields and started setting down their own roots .
They urged families back in Mexico to move into the area later renamed Oak View after Japanese American residents were incarcerated during World War II .
By the 1980s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Boulevard , Gothard Street and Warner and Talbert avenues , had become a predominately Spanish-speaking neighborhood .
The area is home to two schools , a modest park , and a mishmash of renovated and rundown apartment complexes as well as a cluster of affordable housing units .
Latino residents who couldn ’ t travel far or needed to supplement their income created their own businesses .
“ We were looking for Mexican neighborhoods where we could sell our products , and Oak View was perfect for our business , ” said Roberta @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a friend ’ s Santa Ana apartment when she and her husband moved to the United States from Morelos , Mexico .
They sold spices and dried chili from their truck for 25 years in Oak View until she couldn ’ t keep up with the $ 1,900 monthly rent and moved north of the 405 to the unincorporated community of Midway City .
“ I had everything well-organized and people would always look for my produce .
Many don ’ t have cars and they won ’ t visit me in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ drive out there.
” While Hernandez misses her old business , and finds her new neighbors to be “ very reserved , ” she doesn ’ t miss the gunshots that occasionally rang out in Oak View or the young men hanging out drinking and smoking reefer .
“ The truth is that neighborhood is no longer safe , ” she said of Oak View .
Her new residence , by contrast , is “ a quiet community that one sleeps in very comfortably.
” Rodriguez ’ s campaign has excited many locals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ few Oak View residents ever to run for elected office in Huntington Beach .
Gina Clayton-Tarvin , president of the Ocean View School District Board of Trustees , said she identified Rodriguez as the person to collaborate with to legally challenge the trash facility .
“ We knew him from running this amazing soccer league for years .
He was already leading the charge.
” Oscar Maldonado has seen Rodriguez ’ s campaign signs and met Valladares earlier this year .
Inspired to help his fellow Latinos , Malondado started working with ComUNIDAD @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those in need .
The 18-year-old said that his activism has opened a path for him and his family out of what he describes as “ the ’ hood ” and away from Oak View ’ s long-established street gangs .
“ Everyone I used to call my friends are troublemakers , ” said the high school senior , who also holds down a janitorial job at a local gym and hopes to work for the Border Patrol someday .
“ I try to focus on myself , trying to graduate and have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one reason I help , to stay focused and help the community so I won ’ t get in trouble.
” But for some older residents , like Herrera , staying no longer seems like an option .
Oak View is very different from when his father arrived in the 1950s to work as a bracero .
Now his parents are dead .
Jobs have dried up .
Traffic is awful .
Even with two roommates , he ’ s facing a choice between paying his share of the $ 1,600 rent and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Puebla , the land of his forebears , beckons .
“ Now with smartphones , you can get on YouTube to see everything in your country .
I miss my country , ” he said .

In a makeshift bedroom in a corner of his apartment’s living room, decorated with a religious altar, Hilario Herrera scrolled through his phone, staring fondly at photos and videos of festivities he hosted in his Huntington Beach neighborhood, when daily life felt less anxious.
There was the time he hosted El Grito, the traditional Mexican Independence Day cry, with mariachi for hundreds of people outside his home along Koledo Lane, in the historic Oak View neighborhood. Or his all-time favorite event, an annual daylong celebration on Dec. 12 to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Autumn was always the busy season for Herrera, one of the unofficial bookers for Oak View, a working-class Mexican enclave in Surf City whose roots reach back generations.
Now, uncertainty looms over the historic barrio, as the COVID-19 pandemic has further choked a neighborhood struggling to survive economically and preserve its culture in a city that has long neglected and ridiculed it as the “Slater Slums,” named after the street that cuts through it.
Oak View residents wonder whether there will be any fiestas navideñas this year, amid state mandates to avoid large gatherings and maintain social distance. A few longtime dwellers such as Herrera, whose family — like many here — emigrated from the south-central Mexican state of Puebla, are thinking about quitting the U.S. altogether and moving back to their ancestral homeland.
“I can’t do it all by myself anymore,” said Herrera, 55, who has had trouble getting hired to cater parties, after he lost his job as a soap factory worker. He now ekes out a living by selling tacos and tamales. “Our neighborhood is rich with culture, but we don’t have any money.”
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Yet other Oak View residents resolve to stay, adopting a different strategy: organize to gain political power for Latinos, who make up about 20% of the city’s 199,000 residents, according to 2019 census figures.
Longtime community activist Oscar Rodriguez, right, buys a bag of chips from street vendor Fernando Aguilar in Oak View. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Oscar Rodriguez and Victor Valladares started Oak View ComUNIDAD in 2015 to help mediate disputes between families doubled-up in apartments but also to document the physical changes to the neighborhood, as refurbished apartment complexes began to crop up and raise rents. The grassroots group broadcasts on social media the neighborhood’s tragedies and triumphs, such as its legal victory in getting the waste-disposal plant across the street from Oak View Elementary to enclose its facility and donate millions for a new gym and trees.
Rodriguez is running for a seat on the Huntington Beach City Council, with the endorsement of the Democratic Party of Orange County and the area’s congressman, Harley Rouda. His platform focuses on helping residents who are food insecure during the pandemic, prioritizing affordable housing for working class families, and investing in youth and small businesses. (For a full list of the candidates running for Huntington Beach City Council, please visit https://www.huntingtonbeachca.gov/files/users/city_clerk/Candidate-Contact-List.pdf.)
It’s “not healthy, living with two, three families in apartment buildings,” said the 26-year-old, who attributes his interest in politics to his father’s efforts to improve the Oak View playing fields used by Latino youth soccer teams. “It’s not the way you want to live.”
Rodriguez is up against 14 other candidates, including two other Latinos. If elected, he would be the first Latino elected to the council in recent memory, if not ever.
Children play on the staircase in front of their apartment in Oak View. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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The square-mile neighborhood presents an alternative Huntington Beach to the postcard-fantasy town favored by sun worshippers and corporate hotel chains, and which has made national headlines in recent years for boisterous — and sometimes violent — right-wing demonstrations. As the city grapples with struggling businesses, revenue shortfalls and homelessness, some Oak View residents have felt forced to leave their community and find cheaper housing elsewhere.
“I feel like we’re facing a growing community with people without housing,” said Laura Lavin, 48, who was drawn to Huntington Beach after being priced out of East L.A. several years ago.
Said Valladares: “I’d walk around with Laura and we’d see obvious telltale signs that these places are gonna be for sale, so we’d warn people and be on the lookout.”
Decades before Huntington Beach became emblematic of Southern California beach and right-wing culture, the city was home to several historically important immigrant communities.
Oak View overlaps with the remains of Wintersburg Village, a former Japanese enclave, including a mission and a former goldfish farm, that the National Trust for Historic Preservation recognizes as an endangered national treasure.
Mexicans who migrated into the region found themselves working in the village or nearby crop fields and started setting down their own roots. They urged families back in Mexico to move into the area later renamed Oak View after Japanese American residents were incarcerated during World War II.
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Ricardo Brito Miranda, 84, sits in front of his Oak View apartment, where he has lived for 40 years. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
By the 1980s, Oak View, bounded by Beach Boulevard, Gothard Street and Warner and Talbert avenues, had become a predominately Spanish-speaking neighborhood.
The area is home to two schools, a modest park, and a mishmash of renovated and rundown apartment complexes as well as a cluster of affordable housing units. Latino residents who couldn’t travel far or needed to supplement their income created their own businesses.
“We were looking for Mexican neighborhoods where we could sell our products, and Oak View was perfect for our business,” said Roberta Hernandez, 57, who first lived in a friend’s Santa Ana apartment when she and her husband moved to the United States from Morelos, Mexico. They sold spices and dried chili from their truck for 25 years in Oak View until she couldn’t keep up with the $1,900 monthly rent and moved north of the 405 to the unincorporated community of Midway City.
“I had everything well-organized and people would always look for my produce. Many don’t have cars and they won’t visit me in Midway City until I have time to drive out there.”
While Hernandez misses her old business, and finds her new neighbors to be “very reserved,” she doesn’t miss the gunshots that occasionally rang out in Oak View or the young men hanging out drinking and smoking reefer.
“The truth is that neighborhood is no longer safe,” she said of Oak View. Her new residence, by contrast, is “a quiet community that one sleeps in very comfortably.”
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Rodriguez’s campaign has excited many locals. He’s one of the few Oak View residents ever to run for elected office in Huntington Beach.
Cristobal Guttierez, owner of Pueblo Produce, watches for customers from inside his food truck in Oak View. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Gina Clayton-Tarvin, president of the Ocean View School District Board of Trustees, said she identified Rodriguez as the person to collaborate with to legally challenge the trash facility. “We knew him from running this amazing soccer league for years. He was already leading the charge.”
Oscar Maldonado has seen Rodriguez’s campaign signs and met Valladares earlier this year. Inspired to help his fellow Latinos, Malondado started working with ComUNIDAD by helping distribute food every Friday to those in need.
The 18-year-old said that his activism has opened a path for him and his family out of what he describes as “the ’hood” and away from Oak View’s long-established street gangs.
“Everyone I used to call my friends are troublemakers,” said the high school senior, who also holds down a janitorial job at a local gym and hopes to work for the Border Patrol someday. “I try to focus on myself, trying to graduate and have good grades. That’s the one reason I help, to stay focused and help the community so I won’t get in trouble.”
Advertisement
But for some older residents, like Herrera, staying no longer seems like an option. Oak View is very different from when his father arrived in the 1950s to work as a bracero. Now his parents are dead. Jobs have dried up. Traffic is awful. Even with two roommates, he’s facing a choice between paying his share of the $1,600 rent and keeping food on the table.
And Puebla, the land of his forebears, beckons.
“Now with smartphones, you can get on YouTube to see everything in your country. I miss my country,” he said.