LA’s Wildfires Threaten Almost 40 Prisons and Jails. Here’s How They’re Responding.

The Appeal contacted 38 facilities to ask how they’re preparing for air quality issues and possible evacuations and power outages. Thousands of people—including hundreds of children—sit in potentially impacted facilities.

This photo shows a California firefighter spraying a burning house with a hose at night during the 2025 Palisades Fire. — Cal Fire / Wikimedia Commons

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, Ethan Corey, Meg O’Connor

Jan 09, 2025

As of Thursday afternoon, more than 180,000 Los Angeles residents have been ordered to evacuate as deadly fires ravage the city. Hurricane-force winds reaching up to 100 miles per hour whipped the blazes into a frenzy.

Five major fires now threaten the area. To the West, the Pacific Palisades fire has become the most destructive fire in Los Angeles city history. The Eaton fire to the East has killed at least five people so far. The fires have destroyed an estimated 9,000 homes, businesses, and other buildings.

Videos shared on social media show cars left abandoned as people panicked and fled on foot. Other footage shows patients in wheelchairs being evacuated from local hospitals.

According to an analysis by The Appeal, dozens of jails, prisons, and juvenile detention facilities across Los Angeles may be at risk. At least one facility is in an evacuation warning zone—Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall, a San Fernando Valley detention center holding 96 children. The building complex sits slightly more than a mile from the Hurst Fire.

As of Thursday evening, none of the nearly 100 kids incarcerated in the facility have been moved to safety, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Probation Department told The Appeal. The probation department oversees the county’s juvenile facilities.

“Nidorf continues to be under evacuation warning,” department spokesperson Vicky Waters said via email. “While that is an elevated risk, it is not an order to evacuate.”

“Air purifiers, masks and HEPA filters have been deployed to help mitigate the impacts of the smoke,” Waters added. “We are prepared and have plans in place should an evacuation order be issued.”

Seven jails are within 1.5 miles of the largely uncontained fires. None responded when asked about their plans to protect incarcerated people from air quality issues or potentially evacuate.

Air quality at dozens of facilities housing thousands of people is expected to reach unhealthy levels as the fires rage, according to the U.S. air quality index. Winds are expected to strengthen again Thursday and Friday. Smoke and burning particles pollute the air during wildfires, making it dangerous to breathe. Children, the elderly, pregnant people, and people with asthma or COPD are especially at risk. The Air Quality Index (AQI) measures outdoor air pollution. An AQI below 50 is considered healthy. An AQI above 100 can be hazardous for sensitive groups, who are often overrepresented in prisons and jails. Above 150, the air quality is considered unhealthy for everyone.

Firefighters are struggling to contain the flames amid a dwindling water supply. Firefighters say they have not begun to contain the area’s largest fires. Los Angeles residents are also grappling with a loss of safe tap water and power outages due to the raging winds and debris, with nearly 400,000 people across Southern California without power early Wednesday.

Last year, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass cut $17.5 million from the fire department’s budget while giving the police department a $138 million raise. As fires destroyed homes across Los Angeles, killing five people, LAPD threatened to arrest people on social media.

Like many states, California uses incarcerated people to fight fires. Imprisoned firefighters are poorly compensated for the deadly work and are often barred from officially becoming firefighters once they are released.

Nearly 800 incarcerated people are currently deployed to fight these current wildfires, a spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) told The Appeal. According to the CDCR, these firefighters earn between $5 to $10 per day for their work and an additional $1 per hour when assigned to an active emergency.

“As of today, 783 Fire Camp firefighters have been working around the clock cutting fire lines and removing fuel from behind structures to slow fire spread, including 88 support staff,” a spokesperson for CDCR said in an email. During an emergency, incarcerated firefighters often work 24-hour shifts.

Climate change makes extreme weather events happen more frequently. Eight California prisons, which incarcerate about 46,000 people, are located in areas vulnerable to the catastrophic consequences of climate change—including extreme heat, wildfires, or flooding, according to a 2023 report.

Graduate students from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs surveyed more than 500 state prisoners and found that close to half of respondents had been exposed to wildfires and smoke. Of those people, more than 80 percent said they had irritated lungs, eyes, or throats. Most respondents said they were unaware of emergency plans in case of wildfire, extreme cold or heat, and flooding. One person said they had only participated in three fire drills throughout their twenty years of incarceration.

Barry J Nidorf Juvenile Hall

Status: In an evacuation warning zone

Type: A juvenile detention facility run by the county’s probation department.

Population: 96

Air quality forecast: Good

Response: A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Probation Department told The Appeal: “Nidorf continues to be under evacuation warning. While that is an elevated risk, it is not an order to evacuate. Precautions have been taken throughout the fires to protect the youth and staff at all of our centers, and the Department has deployed additional staff to assist with any emergency or possible evacuations. The youth’s safety and well-being is paramount, and it is our top priority. Air purifiers, masks and HEPA filters have been deployed to help mitigate the impacts of the smoke. We are prepared and have plans in place should an evacuation order be issued. There are over 90 youth at Nidorf. We continue to monitor the situation, and are working closely with our state and local emergency and law enforcement partners. Our hearts are also with those who have been impacted by these historic fires, many of whom are staff, colleagues and partners. We stand by our communities in this difficult time.”

Santa Monica Jail

Status: Within 1.5 miles of evacuation area

Type: A local jail run by the city of Santa Monica.

Population: Unknown, but the jail has a 92-bed capacity.

Air quality forecast: Unhealthy

Response: The Santa Monica Police Department did not respond when reached for comment.

Glendale City Jail

Status: Within 1.5 miles of evacuation area

Type: A minimum-security local jail run by the city of Glendale.

Population: Unknown, but the jail has a 96-bed capacity.

Air quality forecast: Unhealthy for sensitive groups

Response: The Glendale Police Department did not respond when reached for comment.

Pasadena Jail

Status: Within 1.5 miles of evacuation area

Type: A local jail run by the city of Pasadena.

Population: Unknown.

Air quality forecast: Unhealthy

Response: The Pasadena Police Department did not respond when reached for comment.

Arcadia Police Department Jail

Status: Within 1.5 miles of evacuation area

Type: A local jail run by the city of Arcadia.

Population: Unknown.

Air quality forecast: Unhealthy

Response: The Arcadia Police Department did not respond when reached for comment.

Monrovia Jail

Status: Within 1.5 miles of evacuation area

Type: A local jail run by the city of Monrovia.

Population: Unknown.

Air quality forecast: Unhealthy for sensitive groups

Response: The Monrovia Police Department did not respond when reached for comment.

LAPD Hollywood Area Jail

Status: Within 1.5 miles of evacuation area

Type: A local jail run by the Los Angeles Police Department.

Population: Unknown.

Air quality forecast: Unhealthy for sensitive groups

Response: The Los Angeles Police Department did not respond when reached for comment.

Beverly Hills Jail

Status: Within 1.5 miles of evacuation area

Type: A local jail run by the city of Beverly Hills.

Population: Unknown.

Air quality forecast: Unhealthy

Response: The Beverly Hills Police Department did not respond when reached for comment.