The US Department of Veterans Affairs took precautionary measures on Friday night by evacuating veteran residents from its West Los Angeles Medical Center as the Palisades fire continued to pose a threat in the area. The fire, which had started moving towards the Mandeville Canyon region earlier in the day, led to expanded evacuation orders that encompassed parts of the Interstate 405 and the Encino Reservoir, located just blocks away from the VA center.
Although the West Los Angeles Medical Center itself had not received any evacuation warnings or orders at the time, the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System decided to relocate veterans from the Community Living Center on the North Campus as a proactive step to ensure the safety and well-being of the veterans, staff, and visitors. The VA center emphasized that this measure was taken out of an abundance of caution.
