27 Arrested in Raid at Santa Clara River Party

Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies--some driving pickup trucks and some riding horses--raided a large, annual party in the Santa Clara River bottom in Valencia and arrested 27 people, authorities said Sunday.

The party-goers, seven of whom were juveniles, were released after their arrest Saturday night on suspicion of trespassing. The party was held Saturday on land owned by Newhall Land & Farming Co. near the Golden State Freeway, Sgt. Howard Fairchild said. One person was arrested on suspicion of marijuana possession as well as misdemeanor trespassing, he said.

Flyers announcing the party were distributed throughout the San Fernando Valley last week, Fairchild said. This was the third year the party was scheduled, he said. Between 500 and 1,000 people attended the gathering last year, Fairchild said.

In the past, trash was strewn across the property and fences were vandalized, he said.

About 7:30 p.m. Saturday, deputies stationed themselves around the party site in the dry riverbed, which was marked by stockpiles of wood and pallets, Fairchild said.

After 70 people entered the area, about 30 deputies, aided by a helicopter spotlight overhead, poured into the riverbed, made the arrests and “herded others off the property,” Fairchild said. He said that more than 300 people later were turned away from the site.

Last week, Fairchild said, law enforcement officials posted extra signs around the area saying the riverbed was private property and that trespassers could be prosecuted. “We made sure they knew what they were doing,” he said.

Fairchild said authorities still do not know who organized the party.