NOHO Farenheit 451

Arsonists Set Fire at Iliad Book Shop in NOHO

by Paul Hunt

Book Shop is open but still blowing out the smoke.

A fire was set at the entrance of Iliad Book Shop in North Hollywood, CA. on late Thursday night November 3, 2022.  This was a deliberate act of arson, as not only were books piled up against the entry doors and set alight, but threatening fliers were posted on several walls of the shop.

Luckily a passerby spotted the fire and was able to flag down an L.A. Fire Department truck that was driving by.  Quick action by the Firemen extinguished the blaze, but the store filled with smoke, damaging many books.  The two bookstore cats, loved by the customers as well as the owner, were rescued.

Most of the smoke has been cleared, but remaining damage has to be taken care of.  If the flames had spread inside it would have been a much worse situation, as the smoke can ruin books and then water pouring on them will, of course, ruin the books totally. 

 

Owner Dan Weinstein

Dan Weinstein, owner of Iliad Books is grateful for the quick action of the LAFD, but also that his two beloved cats, Apollo and Zeus were saved.  You can see a photo of Apollo sleeping on a ladder at the home page of Bookstore Memories. Sometimes when I was sitting on the floor in the Iliad browsing through books, Apollo would come over and closely inspect my choices, letting me know which books I should buy.  A very literary cat!  Zeus, the other feline, seemed to like the warm basket on the counter, accepting adoration from the customers.  Dan certainly has two of the best managers a bookstore could ever ask for.

We will be reporting further on this attack.  The questions of who set the fire and why, and the incredible series of recent arson fires in NOHO.  Meanwhile, please go to the Iliad Book Shop website.  They have a Go Fund Me page if readers can donate to help them replace the doors and install security cameras.

 IliadBooks.com