By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-09 16:38:39 | Updated at 2025-01-10 01:56:49
9 hours ago
Wealthy residents of Los Angeles are employing a private security firm to protect their homes from looters after abandoning them due to the ongoing wildfires.
20 people were arrested on suspicion of raiding homes in Southern California during the blazes, prompting some residents of Pacific Palisades to employ guards.
Standing outside a stately home he had been paid to protect, Arturo Garcia told The Los Angeles Times that he and his partner had been working round the clock.
He said: 'We’re the only two guards that are up here. We don’t know when we’re going to go home.'
Garcia, who is employed as a deputy sheriff, works with Nastec, a private security company working in the area.
He and his partner have joined fire trucks and law enforcement in patrolling the streets of the now largely burnt-out neighborhood.
Garcia told the outlet that they had 'a bunch' of clients in the area, and in the last day had chased away two individuals on a moped from one property.
They also caught one man leaving another address with a luxury bag that they said was filled with a drone and a toy car.
Garcia works with Nastec, a private security company working in the area. Nastec personnel are seen here in a shot shared to the company social media
He and his partner have joined fire trucks and law enforcement in patrolling the streets of the now largely burnt out neighborhood, a mansion in Pacific Palisades is seen here ablaze
He added: 'We actively patrol nonstop just driving around. As soon as they see the lights on the top, [looters] know.'
Garcia and his partner also spotted smoke starting to pour out a client's home and managed to quickly flag down a passing truck to quickly put it out.
Sheriff of Los Angeles County Robert Luna mentioned in a Wednesday press conference that two people had been arrested for looting.
He said: 'It's always sad when I have to say this, but part of our responsibility is to make sure no one loots or steals from our residents or our community members who are already being impacted.
'And I'm sad to report we made two arrests this morning for looting. So if you are thinking about coming into any of these areas to steal from our residents, I'm going to tell you something: You're going to be caught, you're going to be arrested and you're going to be prosecuted.'
On Thursday, Kathryn Barger, chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, said the sheriff's department had now arrested 20 people for looting or burglary.
The death toll of the historic infernos have now reached five, as heroic firefighters still battle hellish conditions on the front lines of at least five different fires.
Thousands of people have had to flee their homes due to the wildfires decimating the Los Angeles area.
They've turned what would have been picturesque neighborhoods into smoldering wastelands.
Pushed on by powerful winds, the flames have wiped out over 1,000 structures and scorched famous landmarks that stood in its path.
Firefighters fight the flames from the Palisades Fire burning a house during a powerful windstorm
Flames from the wind-driven Eaton Fire engulf a house in Altadena, California, January 8
Homes damaged by the Palisades Fire are seen along the beach, Wednesday, January 8, 2025, in Malibu
Some of the residents that fled the Pacific Palisades alongside thousands of others include a mix of celebrities, some of whom have since lost their homes.
The homes of Anthony Hopkins, John Goodman and Miles Teller are among those destroyed, while dozens of other stars now face an anxious wait alongside their neighbors to learn if anything could be saved.
Mandy Moore, Cary Elwes, Paris Hilton, James Woods, Billy Crystal and his wife Janice all claimed to have seen their homes go up in smoke in the Palisades Fire.
LA Fire Chief Kristin Crowley believes the fire started accidentally in a back garden around 10am Tuesday morning.
She told reporters the fire is 'spreading at a speed beyond anything we've seen... it's now unlike anything we have seen in our lifetime.'
The death toll is expected to rise as police and fire services prepare to deploy K-9 units trained to sniff out human remains.
More than 130,000 people are still under evacuation orders in Southern California due to the fires.
Private forecaster AccuWeather estimated initial damage and economic loss at more than $50billion (£40billion).
More than 1,500 California firefighters are tasked with quelling the wind-whipped wildfires, while the California National Guard prepares to deploy more military personnel to assist.
Already, 600 service members have arrived from the Cal Guard along with equipment to help local authorities. They brought 10 rotary wing aircrafts and two C-130 planes to help fight the fires.
