Extra Dry January: LA mayor cuts water to 'influencer's' home where at least 40 people partied over the weekend despite the homeowner receiving two citations for large gatherings in past four months'
A Los Angeles home had its utilities cut Tuesday after at least 40 people attended a party at the property that had previously been cited for having wild functions, despite the city's ban on large gatherings.
The move to have the power cut by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was approved by Mayor Eric Garcetti's office, the Los Angeles Times reports.
At least 40 people were in attendance to the Saturday party at the home on the 800 block of North Curson Avenue in Fairfax, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The home, located in the Fairfax district in California, had already been cited in September and in October
Responding officers arrived at the home at 11pm after receiving complaints that a gathering had taken place at a 'social media influencer residence.'
The party was cleared by the officer, a spokesperson from the LAPD shared.
Warning notices had already been issued to the property after police responded to party violations on September 12-13 and October 17.
In a statement, Garcetti spokesman Alex Comisar said that the residents of the home were notified they were violating the mayor's order each time they held a function.
Move to have the power cut by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was approved by Mayor Eric Garcetti's office
Following the October party, a 'mayor's office staffer spoke with both the property owner and a tenant to warn them that any future violation would result in a disconnection of utilities.'
Until the mayor's office decides to turn them back on, the utilities will stay off, LADWP spokeswoman Ellen Cheng shared.
Also on Saturday, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department's Superspreader Task Force arrested 182 adults at two commercial locations for breaking state lockdown orders on Saturday amid surging COVID-19 cases.
The sheriff's office shared shocking photos showing long lines of party goers awaiting citations after their underground events were busted on Saturday
The task force was alerted about an adults-only 'swinger's party' on 61st Street in South Central where middle-aged guests partied without a care, dressed to the nines in heels, dresses and suits.
The sheriff’s department said arrests on Saturday were made at two commercial buildings – the swinger party took place in the 600 block of West 61st Street in Vermont-Slauson and the other in the 400 block of West Pico Boulevard in downtown LA.
The latest parties violated California's strict lockdown rules under which all citizens are ordered to stay home except for permitted work, local shopping and errands and are discouraged from meeting with other households.
LA County continues to grapple with rising coronavirus cases and increasing pandemic fatigue.
Now 10 county residents test positive for COVID-19 every single minute and on average one person dies from the virus every eight minutes, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said.
Los Angeles County is an epicenter for the COVID-19 outbreak, accounting for some 40 per cent of California's virus-related deaths and a huge number of new cases.
On Monday, nearly 8,000 people were hospitalized in Los Angeles County, which had fewer than 50 intensive care units available in an area with a population of 10 million people, said Dr Christina Ghaly, county director of Health Services.
There is a sliver of hope, with new hospitalizations statewide down from about 3,500 a day earlier this month to about 2,500. Some forecasts have predicted the hospitalizations will level off by the end of the month.