A Bel-Air synagogue is suing the city and county of Los Angeles over last year’s Skirball fire, saying they failed to clear the homeless encampment where the blaze started, according to court records.
The Leo Baeck Temple said it sustained fire damage from the blaze that swept through the hills of Bel-Air in December after a cooking fire broke out at an encampment nearby, according to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. The blaze destroyed six homes and damaged a dozen others.
The temple claims that the city had received multiple complaints about the encampment, which was situated among dry brush and flammable vegetation, but failed to inspect or warn the public about the dangerous condition.
The city and county “knew or should have known that this presented a fire hazard, as the area is prone to wildfires because of the trees, bushes and other vegetation and foliage,” the lawsuit states.
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