Protest Held After Vacaville Prisons Aren't Evacuated During LNU Complex Fires
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – A protest was held Sunday outside the Sacramento home of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation secretary after Solano County didn't evacuate two prisons threatened by the LNU Lightning Complex wildfire.
The two prisons - the California Medical Facility and Solano State Prison - are both in Vacaville where people were told to evacuate just last week due to the rapid growth of the flames.
Both facilities were within the evacuation zone - neither released nor moved any inmates as fire destroyed over 1,200 structures, including homes, and killed at least five people.
"Why was the whole town of Vacaville evacuated but prisoners were left at the CMF, at the California Medical Facility, where there are paraplegics, where there are people being treated for cancer," Courtney Morris, an organizer of the protest, said outside of CDCR Secretary Ralph Diaz's home.
The evacuation orders were given on Thursday, Aug. 20, and had mostly been lifted by the next day.
Just this week, Diaz announced he would be retiring from his position, effective Oct. 1. Gov. Gavin Newsom named department veteran Kathleen Allison to replace Diaz, also effective Oct. 1.
