With the arrival of the National Guard in Santa Monica, local authorities are waning everyone, legitimate or otherwise, that no one will be granted access to nearby evacuation zones via city limits.
The 330th Military Police, part of the law enforcement branch of the California National Guard, arrived in Santa Monica on Thursday night and have been stationed at traffic control points around the evacuation area in the Northern part of the city.
“Having the National Guard in our city and working side by side with the men and women of the Santa Monica Police Department should send a strong message to those who would defy evacuation orders to prey on Santa Monicans in this moment of duress. Criminal actions will not be tolerated,” said SMPD Chief Batista. “Our officers are vigilant, and we are fully prepared to arrest and hold offenders accountable.”
SMPD said the military presence will provide more opportunity for police officers to patrol the evacuation zones and make arrests when needed.
In the day between Santa Monica declaring a curfew and the Guard arriving, the police department received about 573 calls for service. While the evacuation zone is only about 4 percent of the city’s total area, 240 calls came out of the evacuated blocks. Most of those were initiated by police officers who were self-responding to a problem including 140 vehicles that were attempting to, or did, cross into the zone.
Lt. Erika Aklufi said the Guard are the latest wave of reinforcements helping local officers.
“We did have a lot of mutual aid with 26 officers and supervisors in Santa Monica from our mutual aid agencies last night, which was fantastic,” she said. “Then obviously, as you know, the National Guard got into the city a little bit after midnight and they have 12 different posts around the city where they’re assisting us with maintaining traffic control and som of the border crossings between Santa Monica and Los Angeles, where we’ve really been needing them.”
She said there have been a lot of people trying to access the Palisades fire/evacuation zone through Santa Monica and those crossings simply will not be allowed now that the Guard are in place to provide additional security.
“What we’re really trying to let people know is that they can’t get in that way, they’ve got to go another way,” she said.
Criminals often begin infiltrating evacuation zones within minutes of a declaration, often utilizing bicycles or walking into areas to evaluate potentially vacant homes. Chief Batista said his department isn’t actively trying to arrest or harass residents but that it is illegal for anyone to be inside an evacuation zone.
“Day and night, we are dedicated to ensuring the security of your homes and loved ones,” he said. “Our team is proactively monitoring both the warning AND evacuation zones, deploying extra officers, and collaborating closely with mutual aid partners to provide comprehensive support. We remain steadfast in our commitment to respond swiftly to any needs that arise.
PLEASE be aware that no one will be able to enter any Pacific Palisades or Los Angeles evacuation zone through Santa Monica points of entry.”
