2 Police Barricades Burned in Sepulveda

Arsonists set fire Thursday to two of four barricades put up three weeks ago to keep drug dealers out of a 12-square-block area of Sepulveda, authorities said.

The burned barricades, at Parthenia Place and Memory Park Avenue and Parthenia Place and Columbus Avenue, were not destroyed, although at least four plastic sawhorses used to form the barriers were completely melted, Los Angeles City Fire Capt. William Saylor said.

The fires started about 5:45 p.m. and were extinguished in about 5 minutes, Saylor said.

Police were looking for two 14-year-old Latino boys on bicycles. Witnesses said they poured a flammable liquid on the barricades and set them on fire. No arrests have been made, police said.

Neighbors say the barriers have cut drug dealing in the area, especially on two blocks of Columbus Avenue, where detectives used to make an average of 50 drug-related arrests a month. The Los Angeles City Council last week voted to allow police to continue blocking off the neighborhood as long as is deemed necessary. “Even though this happened, the barricades, I hope, will stay up,” said Mila Casper, a property owner in the area.