LOS ANGELES - There’s no area too rugged or remote, for L.A. County Sheriff’s Homeless Outreach Services Team.
Sgt. William Kitchin and his team are on a mission to aid and safeguard the homeless population in L.A. County. Today they’re patrolling the San Gabriel and Rio Hondo River areas.
It’s a joint effort by L.A. County Sheriff’s Homeless Outreach Services Team, known as (HOST) and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. They're part service-workers, part law-enforcement, and part firefighters; trying to speak with every homeless person in this area, put them in-contact with services, and warn them of dangers -- floods in the winter, fires in the summer.
“It’s gonna be one of our encampments here in the drain and we’re going to give them a little warning about fire and fire dangers and as you can see right across there, probably a good four feet of dried brush here,” said Deputy Gutierrez, who says it can be hard to detect a fire out here before it’s out of control.
“As you can see, it’s hidden, it’s well secluded. Very dense, very high about six to 10 feet high and drying out day by day as we get deeper into summer time, becoming more and more dangerous as combustible fuel for wildland fires. The fire will be well out of control by the time someone calls 911,” said Deputy Gutierrez.
The fact that it’s secluded also means many of these areas can’t be serviced by a fire truck, and often require air drops to extinguish a blaze.
“July 5th, 2018 there was a pretty large wildland fire here, someone on a bicycle discarded a cigarette and the whole thing went up,” said Deputy Gutierrez.
And so, the team goes from homeless encampments to homeless encampment informing individuals and confiscating items which could start a fire…
“We do come across things, propane canisters, other cylinders with combustible fuels, sometimes dry vegetation, lighters, but it could be anything, just a piece of glass out here that magnifies the heat,” said Gutierrez.
That’s why Los Angeles County will create a task force to relocate homeless people from encampments near areas of high risk for fire or flood. The motion approved earlier this month and authored by supervisors Kathryn Barger and Hilda Solis, did not include specifics on relocation length or procedure.
Sgt. Kitchin and Deputy Gutierrez along with the rest of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Homeless Services Outreach Team and Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority will decide the terms of relocating individuals when specific areas are at risk.
“Our work out here is live saving,” said Sgt. Kitchin.