Reseda business owner concerned over homeless encampment fires: ‘ No one can help us’

LOS ANGELES – Frustration continues to grow for a longtime family-owned business in the San Fernando Valley, citing that the City of Los Angeles has done nothing about a homeless encampment in the area. 

The encampment has caught fire multiple times in less than a month, causing damage to the Reseda shop. 

Shocking security video appears to show the unsheltered residents intentionally setting the fires and torching the area near their encampments. Business owners are concerned as the fires seem to be going bigger and bigger while becoming more threatening. 

In one video, a man is seen throwing a flaming object that ignites a fire, which was an alarming threat to a nearby business. 

 “The main fire was they actually were making meth and caught their whole structure on fire,” Reseda business owner Karen Brewster alleged. “And then it caught our building on fire.” 

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FOX 11’s cameras were rolling after a torched vehicle was towed away. 

Brewster worries that eventually, her business will suffer similar damage. 

“It’s only a matter of time. They’ve already done 6 to 7 fires,” she added.

In addition, video from the scene appears to show the homeless residents tapping into the city’s electrical box. The power for streetlights now allegedly powers the encampment instead. 

“It’s not right,” Brewster said. 

The parking lot off Canby Avenue owned by the California Department of Transportation is supposed to be closed to the public from midnight to 6 a.m. 

“Now that we need the city, they’re nowhere to be found. No one can help us,” Brewster said. 

Brewster Nutrition has been at the Reseda location since 1950.

The Los Angeles Police Department said they monitor the area. However, they can’t do anything because the land is owned by the state. 

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