As multiple fires rage across Los Angeles, with red flag warnings impacting the entire county and tens of thousands evacuated, the Youth Justice Coalition and their partners are urgently calling on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to take immediate action to release youth detained at Barry J Nidorf Juvenile Hall.
Located in Sylmar, the detention center is just half a mile south of the evacuation border for the Hurst Fire, which has spread to 671 acres and is now only 10% contained, as of 4 PM today, Thursday, January 9. According to Watch Duty, since 10:32 PM on Tuesday, they have remained in an “evacuation warning level 2” zone, meaning that residents should be poised to leave, but have not yet been ordered to evacuate.
At 12 PM today, the Los Angeles County Probation Department issued a statement declaring, “Barry J. Nidorf remains in an evacuation warning zone. At this time, there are no orders to evacuate. School was cancelled for the day, and programming is being limited.”
“Given there are 96 young people currently incarcerated inside Nidorf, we consider this to be dangerous, negligent, and irresponsible behavior by LA County Probation officials and County Supervisors,” says Emilio Zapién, Director of Media & Communications at Youth Justice Coalition LA. “The wildfires present a critical moment for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to demonstrate their commitment to protecting youth, particularly those involved in the justice system. Decisive action today can save lives and set a precedent for prioritizing community-based care over incarceration.”
According to Ed Source, on Wednesday at 6:30 PM, a member of Nidorf staff responded to a call asking for the youth to be released by saying there was no fire nearby. Yesterday’s post on Youth Justice Coalition’s Twitter warns, “When you call, they will make excuses and say ‘this is not yet a mandatory evacuation.’ This is incredibly dangerous, misleading, and irresponsible. If their children were being held half a mile from a wildfire, they’d be out.”
Parents have been repeatedly calling the facility for updates, only to be told that their children have still not been evacuated, despite the rapidly spreading wildfire.
“In my opinion, probation should have stopped all transfers to court and had probation vans parked outside Barry J (Nidorf Juvenile Hall) to get our youth to safe locations,” says Alex Trantham, LA County Deputy Public Defender currently representing youth at the East LA Courthouse. “This is another example of probation’s failure to take care of our youth, and the county continuing to allow them to fail.”
“The ongoing fires, coupled with deteriorating air quality and heightened fire risks, have exposed the inadequacy of detention facilities in safeguarding youth during emergencies,” says Zapién. “These conditions put detained youth in immediate and unacceptable danger.”
The Youth Justice Coalition and their partners are demanding the immediate evacuation of the detained youth to family members, community organizations, or supportive environments that ensure their safety and well-being, and for the closure of unsafe juvenile detention facilities with resources reallocated to restorative, community-based solutions focused on healing and development.
“Detention facilities are fundamentally unsafe for children, a reality that is amplified during natural disasters,” says Zapién. “Youth deserve environments that prioritize their safety, care, and development — not systems of confinement that leave them vulnerable.”
Trantham explains that, due to issues within the probation department, conditions have been found unsuitable at centers throughout Los Angeles again and again. Probation staff has a history of abuse and harm towards the youth detained at Nidorf Juvenile Hall.
In terms of a long-term solution, Trantham says, “Hopefully, after getting our youth to safety, we can push the Board of Supervisors follow through with Reimagine LA and Care First by using more funds to support community organizations who can support our youth within the community, instead of continuing to fund a failing department that has no in interest in their rehabilitation.”
The Youth Justice Coalition asks that supporters make calls to the Mayor, the Probation Department, and the offices of Supervisors Barger and Hahn. Updated calls for action can be found on Youth Justice Coalition’s Instagram and Twitter.
