Grammar Guard aims its red pen at high-profile people, but occasionally it can’t resist a high-profile news outlet. Today’s source: the Associated Press.

Tracie Cone just covered a wildfire near Yosemite National Park. She writes, “In Southern California, about 4,000 visitors were evacuated Sunday from the Los Angeles zoo as a fast-moving brush fire burned nearby in Griffith Park.”

To evacuate is to remove the contents of, to vacate or empty. Zoos and homes and airplanes can be evacuated. People cannot.

A proper sentence would read: “In Southern California, the Los Angeles zoo was evacuated Sunday, forcing about 4,000 visitors to leave as a fast-moving brush fire burned nearby in Griffith Park.”

Another option is: “In Southern Califnorna, about 4,000 visitors fled the Los Angeles zoo as a fast-moving brush fire burned nearby in Griffith Park.” This alternative gets my vote because it’s shorter and it credits the reader for understanding what evacuation entails without needing to see the word. After all, evucate — in various parts of speech — appears six other times in the article, which seems like more than enough.

Another problem arises in this sentence: “Some homeowners defied evacuation orders to stay and defend their properties.” If you’re reading this sentence quickly — which you are, right? — you might assume homeowners were ordered to stay and defend their properties. The adjective that clarifies the sentence, “evacuation orders,” is easily glossed over; it is the nuts and bolts, or the subjects and verbs, that stand out when we skim. A simple way to eliminate the chance of a misread: “Some homeowners defied evacuation orders, opting to stay and defend their properties.”

Voila.