Arrests are soaring in fire-ravaged Los Angeles County, mainly for looting — with one guy caught dressed as a firefighter while stealing from a home — prompting more National Guard reinforcements.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna confirmed at least 29 arrests Sunday.
While many of the busts were for looting, at least two involved people breaking curfew near Veep Kamala Harris’s home in the tony LA enclave of Brentwood on Saturday morning, authorities said.
The charred remnants of the Palisades campus of international private school Le Lycee Francais de Los Angeles is seen after it was destroyed in the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, California, on January 11, 2025. AFP via Getty ImagesA few days earlier, on Wednesday, Harris aide Ernie Apreza tweeted, “Last night, the Vice President’s neighborhood in Los Angeles was put under an evacuation order. No one was in her home at the time. She and the Second Gentleman are praying for the safety of their fellow Californians, the heroic first responders, and Secret Service personnel.”Twenty-five people have been arrested in the Eaton Fire area so far, while four were busted in the Palisades Fire region, Luna told reporters.
One of the arrests involved a suspect dressed as a firefighter while burglarizing a home, Luna said.
“I saw a gentleman who looked like a firefighter, and I asked if he was OK because he was sitting down, and I didn’t realize we had him in handcuffs,” Luna said, according to CBS News. “We were turning him over to the LAPD because he was dressed like a fireman and was not. He just got caught burglarizing a home.”
In response to the uptick in arrests, Luna has requested additional assistance from the National Guard.
Stay up to date with the NYP’s coverage of the terrifying LA-area fires
- A timeline of the LA Fires — from early weather warnings to rampant blazes
- ‘Extreme’ risk of LA fires spreading, new blazes sparking with return of dangerous 75 mph Santa Ana winds
- Trump anticipates rising death toll in LA wildfires: ‘We’re gonna find many bodies and many more, many more dead’
- Deadly Palisades Fire set ‘maliciously’ by Florida firebug Jonathan Rinderknecht, feds say
The three fires still burning in LA as of Tuesday — Hurst, Palisades and Eaton — and the acreage they have burned. New York PostCurrently, 400 National Guard troops have been deployed to the region to help provide security to the area and hopefully deter additional looting, Luna said.
“I’m hoping that you’ll see additional National Guard personnel arriving today,” he said. “I will be meeting with one of their very high-ranking executives later today.”
To prevent looting, a daily curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. was issued Thursday within the city of Los Angeles, as well as Santa Monica, Malibu and all unincorporated areas of Los Angeles, in the wildfire evacuation and warning zones. Any person found in violation of the curfew could face a misdemeanor charge punishable by a fine of up to $1,000.
