LAPD Couldn’t Assist Palisades Fire Evacuation Due To President Biden’s Security Detail

A source within the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) revealed to Breitbart News that limited officer availability during the early stages of the Palisades Fire was partly due to the ongoing security detail for President Joe Biden, who was visiting Los Angeles from January 6 to 8. The fire, which broke out in the Pacific Palisades area, quickly escalated, and the emergency response efforts were hindered by traffic congestion, which became even more problematic as the fire spread.

According to the LAPD source, officers were unable to reach the Palisades area in time to assist with traffic control and the evacuation process because they were assigned to safeguard the President and his family during their visit to the city. “We tried to get over here [the Palisades] in time, but we couldn’t. We were detailed to the president,” the officer told Breitbart News.

The fire started on January 8, just as President Biden was finishing his visit to Los Angeles for personal reasons, including the birth of his first great-grandchild. While Biden’s presence in the city was not related to official government business, his security detail remained a priority for LAPD officers, leaving the department stretched thin as emergency responders worked to handle the growing blaze.

As the fire spread in the Pacific Palisades, local residents began evacuating, but they found themselves stuck in a nightmare of gridlock along Sunset Boulevard. Emergency vehicles, including fire trucks and ambulances, were unable to make swift progress due to the influx of fleeing residents, who were also trying to move quickly in fear of the spreading flames. In addition to the chaos on the road, residents rushed to pick up their children from local schools before heading to safety, creating more panic, frenzy, and confusion.

The situation escalated as the smoke from the fire neared the intersection of Palisades Drive and Sunset Boulevard, causing residents to fear for their lives. Firefighters, struggling to navigate through the traffic jam, instructed remaining drivers to evacuate immediately, and used bulldozers to clear blocked roads. Despite these efforts, the fire was exacerbated by the powerful Santa Ana winds, which fueled the flames and made it harder for firefighters to gain control.

The traffic delays were exacerbated by the fact that the LAPD, which typically would have been handling traffic and evacuation coordination, had its resources diverted to security duties for the president, leaving some to question the balance between protecting high-profile figures and responding to immediate local emergencies.

As the fire continued to burn, it became clear that the Santa Ana winds, combined with the strain on emergency resources and poor infrastructure choices, made containing the flames a challenging task. Though LAPD and fire personnel ultimately responded to the crisis, the bottleneck of traffic made it difficult to prevent the fire from spreading as quickly as it did.

Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar was one of many celebrities to express her frustration with the city’s leadership during the Palisades fires, specifically noting the lack of organization in the evacuation process. “City of LA, you want everyone to evacuate yet you have complete gridlock and not one traffic cop on the roads helping,” Gellar wrote on her Instagram story, tagging the official accounts for both Mayor Karen Bass and the City of Los Angeles.

READ NEXT: Jimmy Kimmel Cries Recounting LA Fire & Blasts Trump