Thousands of Los Angeles County residents have been forced to evacuate to avoid toxic air inhalation and the encroaching wildfires that have destroyed more than a thousand homes and businesses across the region.
So far, five people have lost their lives. Two of the largest active fires, the Pacific Palisades and the Eaton fires, remain designated 0% containment zones as firefighters continue efforts to extinguish raging flames.
Various news coverage showed gridlocked traffic and abandoned vehicles being bulldozed to clear the way for fire trucks in the nightmarish hellscape against a backdrop of conflagrations caused by low humidity and spread by the fierce Santa Ana winds that have continued fanning blazes since Tuesday.
But one clip of a street scene had social media users baffled.
The polarizing viral video showed a Santa Monica parking warden issuing a parking violation ticket while a cloud of smoke from a nearby fire was seen billowing behind houses on a residential street.
On Wednesday, the X (formerly Twitter) account for Open Source Intel shared the video and captioned it with:
"Santa Monica is burning, but hey, at least Santa Monica is making some money from parking tickets. Priorities."
The ongoing crisis hasn't deterred this LA parking enforcer from patrolling the area to hand out citations.
While his dedication in another scenario could be viewed as commendable, social media users rolled their eyes.
Some scoffed at the city for prioritizing levying fines amid the natural disaster.
Others played the devil's advocate and pointed out possible logistics to legitimize what was happening in the clip.
City Manager David White signed an emergency order, which includes a curfew from sunset to sunrise in mandatory evacuation order zones to support law enforcement efforts in designated areas in response to the nearby Pacific Palisades fire.
In a statement, White said in part:
“The local emergency order provides Santa Monica Police and our mutual aid partners another tool to continue to protect our community."
"Our first responders are out patrolling, staying vigilant and coordinating with our partners throughout this emergency on all fronts.”
Parts of the emergency order include the "prohibition of construction activities in evacuation areas" and the "suspension of preferential parking rules and enforcement for residents."
