Volunteers patrol Detroit for Angels Night

DETROIT, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Thousands of volunteers have been patrolling the streets of Detroit as the Halloween season gets under way, hoping to avoid nights of arson.

In the 1980s, hundreds of fires would be set each Oct. 30, the night before Halloween, which was traditionally known in the city as Devil's Night. In recent years, an Angels Night campaign, including volunteer patrols, brought those numbers down.

But this year, officials were worried because the collapse of the housing market hit Detroit hard, The Detroit News reported.

In block after block, houses are boarded up and homes are in foreclosure.

Gail Carr, who organized volunteers working out of the Northwest Activities Center, said the number of volunteers was "phenomenal." The center had stocked 1,000 hats and yellow car lights for volunteers Thursday night and gave them all out.

"People wanted to help our city," she said. "They feel like this is something we have to do. The word got out."

The effort appeared to be working. City officials said fewer than 50 suspicious fires had been reported by late Thursday evening. The city averages about 40 a night at normal times.