Looting in Fires Has Likely Been Underestimated

Law enforcement has arrested dozens of suspected looters in areas affected by the Altadena and Palisades fires, but new Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman says the looting has been underestimated. He said it was highly likely.

Hochman spoke to Breitbart News Monday after meeting with firefighters at the Malibu base camp in Zuma Beach, where he met with thousands of firefighters battling the remnants of the Palisades fire. This includes an Israeli team.

Most of the looting suspects who were caught were arrested in Altadena, Hochman said. However, a serious threat of looting still exists in the Pacific Palisades, primarily because wealthy homes that survived the fire are likely to attract thieves.

Hochman explained that reports of looting will likely increase once residents are allowed to return home, as the power outage has made it impossible to remotely monitor surveillance cameras. Only when they returned home did they realize that they had been victims of looting.

Since the fires, Hochman has warned looters that they will be arrested, pushed to make looting a felony in Los Angeles County, and has become one of the few public officials to enjoy the public's trust. Several members of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) told Breitbart News that, unlike his predecessor, George Gascón, a left-wing prosecutor backed by George Soros, they were reluctant to arrest looters knowing that Hochman would put them behind bars. He said he felt confident.