A house on the 300 block of Brockmont Drive in the northern Glendale foothills burned down the day after Thanksgiving 2010. It attracted some unwelcomed attention from coyotes.
Excitement quickly turned into concern for the Molloy family who live right next door.
"I'm worried about the children. My children are grown, but there are children in this area," said Cathy Molloy. "Maybe people speculate they'll attack and maybe they won't, but I don't want to be the one that didn't say anything."
The Molloys shot home video of the coyotes. They said the footage shows four pups and a couple of adults. They're hoping to get the animals trapped and relocated, but Glendale Mayor Laura Friedman, who lives on the other side of the burned-out house, is taking a more hands-off approach to dealing with the coyotes.
"I feel like we've chosen to live in the hillsides. We should be living with these animals and not try to kill them just because we see them," said Friedman.
Friedman is concerned that if the county traps the coyotes, they won't release them somewhere else. They'll have to be destroyed.
Monday, Glendale Police Department Spokesman Tom Lorenz confirmed that the L.A. County Department of Agriculture was set to trap the animals.
"Coyotes, once they become used to humans, they can't be 'retrained.' Even if you move them to another area, they're likely to find their way back down to populated areas again," said Lorenz.
Lorenz also said the burned-down home is caught up in several foreclosure issues. City attorneys are currently working to abate the property, which means they would come clean it up and put a lien on the property. They can even take over the property entirely.
