Black Friday shoppers hit Citadel Outlets

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. - This is a huge shopping center and the crowd of shoppers today? 

Enormous! 

There were lots of people spending lots of Black Friday money this year at the Citadel Outlets.

Citadel General Manager David Blagg says, "There are a lot of people in the area. We advise to bring a good amount of patience with you." 

And, why? The roads leading into the Citadel were blocked with heavy traffic.

From the 5 Freeway to the surface streets, miles of cars heading for the Citadel all day caused a bit of anxiety. 

To shopper Ashley Barajas, that was certainly the case. She says she got frustrated. 

She added, "It feels nice to be out after being stuck at home for a long time." 

The crush of people made her a bit nervous about COVID-19 and crowds. 

Says Barajas, "The fear is still there just cause you can still transmit the disease even though you’re vaccinated and everything." 

She wasn’t alone but others were feeling a little more comfortable. 

Melany Cardenas, her sister Briana and dad came by and talked with us. 

Melany said, "I like that there’s a lot more people that are vaccinated and that a lot of people are wearing masks"

Briana added, "The pandemic scared me at first but now I’m not so worried about it. Briana added. Everyone is wearing masks. I feel like it’s going to be fine."

Some folks got a little weary like one man in line who said, "it’s too hot to be standing in these lines."

Another shopper sitting on a bench said he wasn’t tired of shopping adding, "My wallet is the one that gets tired."

But, when walking thru the crowds it wasn’t just sale signs people saw they saw a huge 115-foot-tall Christmas Tree with 18,000 lights and 10,000 ornaments. 

For some, like shopper Edelia Lara, it was about feeling normal again, shopping on this Black Friday.