A Santa Monica traffic warden has been slammed after appearing to issue parking tickets as the Los Angeles wildfires continue to ravage the area.
In a clip posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, can be seen leaning over a car, although it is not clear whether they are placing a ticket on the windshield.
In the background, dark gray smoke billows menacingly in the sky.
Desperate residents have been evacuating the area in recent hours with the parking warden sparking outrage for the seemingly callous act amid the devastating blaze.
The video, which has been widely shared online, claims to have been taken on January 7, 2025 at 3.15pm.
‘The world is literally burning around us and SMPD is still out here giving out street sweeping tickets,’ user Suzi Mellano wrote.
Shocked users shared their thoughts online – although it is not yet clear if the video is legitimate.
‘This perfectly exemplifies living in LA,’ one user declared.
In a clip posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, can be seen leaning over a car, although it is not clear whether they are placing a ticket on the windshield
‘This is so on brand omg,’ another responded scathingly.
Others suggested it could have been for the greater good.
‘As much as I hate parking enforcement, and I hate them a lot, maybe it’s to keep the streets clear in the event emergency vehicles need to access those areas,’ one man pointed out.
‘They’re only getting tickets if illegally parked.’
‘Are they parked in front of a hydrant though?’ questioned another.
DailyMail.com has reached out to the City of Santa Monica for comment.
In recent days, footage of cars abandoned on the road as desperate residents fled the area has been widely-shared online.
Clips shared by NBC journalist Katherine Picazo earlier in the week on X showed a bulldozer clearing the roadways by shoving abandoned vehicles into piles near Sunset Boulevard.
The clip comes as desperate residents try evacuate the area, with the parking warden sparking outrage for their seemingly callous act, amid the devastating fires in LA
Shocked users shared their thoughts online, with a mixed response
Firefighters have been battling an enormous blaze in Los Angeles that broke out Tuesday evening near a nature reserve in the inland foothills northeast of LA.
Evacuation warnings have already spread to the areas of Malibu and Calabasas.
Tankers full of water had been dousing the inferno from the skies all afternoon yesterday, but all aircraft were later grounded amid deteriorating wind conditions and visibility.
Less than 48 hours on from the initial spark, the wildfire is on track to be the most destructive blaze ever, having ripped through the glitzy celebrity mansions and causing an estimated $48 billion in damage.
According to UCLA experts, after years of severe drought, dozens of ‘atmospheric rivers’ – long, narrow bands of water vapor in the atmosphere – deluged California with record-breaking rain in the winter of 2022-23.
Desperate residents have been evacuating the area in recent hours amid the blaze
Following a second wet winter in southern California in 2023-24, last year brought a record-hot summer.
The combination of wet and hot conditions spurred the growth of more vegetation, and now with record-dry start to the 2025 rainy season, that greenery is ‘tinder-dry.’
The Santa Ana winds then fanned the flames through this dry vegetation leading to the out-of-control fires.
Huge swathes of iconic California real estate from Malibu to Santa Monica, and from Pacific Palisades to Runyon Canyon, are ablaze – impacting millions caught off guard by the unprecedented spread and carnage.
As of Thursday morning, the largest inferno has consumed nearly 12,000 acres in the picturesque Pacific Palisades neighborhood that is home to many film, television and music stars.
