Sheriff’s Department Responds to Hughes Fire Threat at Pitchess Detention Center, Prioritizing Safety and Coordination
On Wednesday, January 22, 2025, at approximately 10:30 a.m. the Hughes Fire ignited and spread across northern Los Angeles County, impacting the city of Santa Clarita and the unincorporated County area of Castaic. As the fire grew in acreage, the Sheriff’s Department Pitchess Detention Center complex was initially placed under an evacuation warning, which later upgraded to an evacuation order. The entire jail complex was put on facility-wide lock down and the North County Correctional Facility (NCCF) Emergency Operations Center was activated.
The Pitchess Detention Center complex spans approximately 2,620 acres, houses approximately 4,500 inmates across four facilities, and employs 2,000 staff members. At the onset of the Hughes Fire, the Custody division began developing an evacuation plan with several rapid response contingencies, should the need arise.
Yesterday, around 12:00 p.m., approximately 476 inmates from the Pitchess Detention Center (PDC) South facility were moved to NCCF, located in the northern portion of the jail complex. This precautionary move was made with the safety of those in our care as the top priority. Custody personnel coordinated six custody transportation buses to assist with the relocation. Inmates from the PDC East Facility, which houses Fire Camp inmates, were also transferred to NCCF. To protect against smoke exposure, the air circulation system in NCCF was temporarily shut down in all the housing units and Deputies offered N95 masks to inmates and staff. These proactive measures were taken to protect the health and well-being of everyone in the jail complex while Fire Department personnel continued battling the Hughes Fire.
The Los Angeles County Fire Chief and his command staff experts reviewed the fire behavior, building construction type, and the manner of fire fuel and recommended to the Sheriff and custody executives to have the entire PDC complex shelter in place. After evaluating the strategic options, life safety risks, and the defensible space around the jails, the Sheriff made the decision to have the inmates and over 300 custody personnel shelter in place. This tactic, supported by Los Angeles County Fire Department leadership, is a proven and effective strategy. The shelter in place approach was most recently utilized at Pepperdine University during the Franklin fire and at Olive View hospital during the Hurst fire, where over a thousand students were advised to shelter in place due to the challenges of safely moving large groups in an unsafe environment.
Several fire resources were dedicated to the safety of the PDC jail facilities, including multiple strike force engines deployed on the NCCF property, a fire aerial assault plan, and fire-retardant drops. Custody personnel developed a detailed evacuation plan, and the Sheriff was prepared to order the evacuation of everyone at NCCF if the fire department's assessment deemed it necessary. The Department was able to gather close to 100 transportation buses from our custody transportation fleet and outside partner agencies.
The Sheriff carefully considered the overall situation and the significant life safety risks that a large evacuation could pose to both incarcerated individuals and employees. Both the Sheriff and the Fire Chief were dedicated to continuously reassessing the shelter in place strategy at NCCF.
“The safety and security of those in our care, along with our custody personnel is our top priority and I will not allow a single life to be lost during this fire,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna. “We take our commitment to providing constitutional care for our incarcerated population very seriously and we value the lives of everyone involved in this situation.”
If the Sheriff’s Department had to evacuate the entire NCCF jail, we had closely collaborated with several of our local and state partners including, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, Kern County Sheriff’s Office, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Los Angeles County Probation Department and Metro. We are grateful for their partnership and readiness to assist us in this rapidly evolving wildfire.
Forwarded by:
Sheriff's Information Bureau
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
211 West Temple Street,
Los Angeles California 90012
213-229-1700
http://www.lasd.org
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Robert G. Luna, Sheriff
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
