Officials in Los Angeles County, California, are cracking down on looters taking advantage of people fleeing tragedy as deadly wildfires rip through the area. So far, police arrested 20 people accused of raiding homes since the start of the fires.
Around 180,000 people are under evacuation orders as of Thursday, Jan. 9, as the fast-moving flames reduce many homes to rubble from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena, California.
Fire officials said they’re still assessing the destruction. However, preliminary reports estimate thousands of structures are either damaged or destroyed.
In the middle of the chaos, looters have been spotted as officials warn potential copycats to stay out of evacuated homes.
“Shame on those who are preying on our residents during this time of crisis,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said during a news conference.
A member of a private security firm told the Los Angeles Times he was hired to guard areas against looters who might see the fires as an opportunity to target affluent neighborhoods, some with celebrity homes, that have been deserted.
So far, he said he’s had to chase off two people on a moped who were trespassing on a client’s property and caught a man leaving another home with a drone inside a luxury bag.
The Los Angeles County sheriff said around 400 department personnel have been deployed to the fire areas and are patrolling for looters.
