Fearful Washington hunkers down; fire disrupts inauguration rehearsal

By Arul Louis New York, Jan 19 : The Capitol area of Washington hunkering down under a pall of fear was put in a lockdown on Monday when a fire broke out in a camp of homeless people near the site of Wednesday’s inauguration of Joe Biden as president and Kamala Harris as vice president.
A rehearsal for the inauguration — the swearing-in ceremony — was disrupted when the fire and explosions happened, but it was not found to be a security threat as only propane tanks at the camp exploded from the accidental fire.
Neither Biden nor Harris was at the rehearsal.
The military band and others participating in the rehearsal were ordered to take shelter in a secure area.
The lockdown was lifted after the fire was not considered a threat by officials.
The heart of the city looks like an armed camp with about 15,000 National Guard troops deployed in response to the storming of the Capitol by some of President Donald Trump’s supporters on January 6 and the breakdown of security. About 10,000 more are expected.