LAFD to increase staff by 200 for Carmageddon

BEVERLY GLEN, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Los Angeles Fire Department is planning on staffing an additional 200 firefighters and paramedics this weekend so they can quickly respond to 911 calls around the areas affected by the closure of the San Diego (405) Freeway.

"We have fire stations in those areas and we want to be able to respond to any type of emergency should it occur," Los Angeles Fire Capt. Alicia Mathis said.

See a live cam shot of the Mulholland Bridge construction site.

The LAFD will also add 15 fire engines and six ambulances to be staged at some of the mountain fire stations.

Fire Station 99 on Mulholland Drive in Beverly Glen will receive an additional five fire engines.

Mathis said if a fire or other emergency happens in the canyons, the additional traffic could make a bad situation much more dangerous.

"Stay off the mountain roads, stay away from the 405, stay off the Sepulveda Pass. Neighbors that live in the area should have parties at their homes so they can walk to friends," she said.

Mathis said they will have brush patrol units monitoring all hillsides in the area during Carmageddon.

Beat Carmageddon with ABC7

The 405 shuts down the weekend of July 16-17, and ABC7 Eyewitness News is your home for the latest traffic news and information. Follow @abc7 and @BeatCarmageddon on Twitter, and use the hash tag #abc7traffic.

ABC7 has also partnered with Waze to help navigate the traffic. Download the Waze app, which provides free turn-by-turn GPS navigation based on the live conditions of the road. Join the community of drivers in Southern California today and beat Carmageddon.

Check out the latest Carmageddon coverage from abc7.com

Get more ABC7 Traffic Center »

carmageddon, I-405 closure, construction, road closure, medical emergency, los angeles city fire department, abc7 traffic center, john hartung

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•