Los Angeles under siege: Looters, thieves targeting evacuation zones in fire-wracked city

Concerns are growing over crimes in Los Angeles, as looters and thieves are targeting homes evacuated by its residents due to the deadly, devastating wildfires that continue to rage across the US county.

In the city of Santa Monica, the Police Department found 100 people illegally inside the evacuation zone in the course of a single night.

Authorities announced that 20 people have so far been arrested for looting in evacuation zones since the wildfires erupted earlier this week, promising strict enforcement against criminal activity.

"I'm going to make this crystal clear to everybody out there," Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said on Thursday. "If you are in one of these areas and you do not belong there, you are going to be subject to arrest."

Around 180,000 people are under mandatory evacuation orders across Los Angeles County, with an additional 200,000 under evacuation warnings due to the Palisades, Eaton, Hearst, and Lydia fires.

According to Luna, hundreds of sheriff's personnel are deployed to assist with evacuations and security operations.

The California National Guard was also deployed to assist in traffic controls to prevent unauthorized access to evacuation zones, while curfews are imposed in some areas.

“I'm going to give direction to our department members, as you know, when we have an evacuation order by law, if you remain in that area, you are guilty of a misdemeanor. If you commit certain crimes, it could jump up to a felony,” Luna said. “I'm going to be asking our employees to start enforcing that.”

Meanwhile, the Santa Monica Police Department has mobilized all available resources and called in mutual aid to curb thefts in evacuated areas, with all officers transitioning to tactical alert.

SMPD Chief Ramon Batista reported that six misdemeanor arrests and seven felony arrests were made during the first night of the City’s curfew. Of the felony arrests, two were made for outstanding warrants related to firearms violations and five involved subjects on probation or parole for burglary.

There are five wildfires burning in Los Angeles, with Palisades being the largest as it scorched nearly 20,000 acres and destroyed more than 5,000 structures.

According to Los Angeles County’s Medical Examiner, at least 10 people have been killed in the wildfires that have been raging since Tuesday.

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