Defiant and armed homeowners in Los Angeles' scorched Altadena neighborhood took to the streets to protect their homes, which are still standing despite evacuation orders and cordons cordoned off amid raging wildfires. residents say that it has occurred.
Authorities have arrested at least a dozen people in connection with the looting and arson, and prosecutors in Los Angeles and neighboring Orange County have urged the governor to order tougher penalties for looters.
Ignoring evacuation orders, Mike LeRoy and Billy Theodorakopoulos told Fox News Digital they were protecting their neighborhood from looters.
Los Angeles area residents need phone numbers and how to get help.
“Looters will be shot,” reads a sign posted in front of a home in Altadena, California, at the epicenter of the aftermath of the California fires. (Derek Schock, FOX News Digital)
Initially, they stayed behind to protect the house with garden hoses, keeping the roof and yard as wet as possible and directly fighting the garage fire, which reached the car's gas tank. Firefighters briefly attended and helped extinguish the blaze, but then moved on to other emergencies.
They decided to stay here and drive out the looters.
We changed the name to “Texadena” because everyone was walking around with guns.
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“There was one incident early on,” LeRoy said. “But after that, there was nothing. There were a lot of patrols, especially the last few nights.”
He said they got several hours of sleep between patrols and remained alert.
“Looters will be shot,” reads a sign posted in front of a home in Altadena, California, at the epicenter of the aftermath of the California fires. (Derek Schock, FOX News Digital)
Theodorakopoulos' wife, Maggie, said they decided to call Altadena by its new name amid the turmoil.
“We've renamed it 'Texadena' now because people are walking around with guns and stuff,” she joked.
Without electricity, rebels set up makeshift camps equipped with solar-powered showers.
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The couple said they hope more neighbors will get involved.
“We need our neighbors to go home so they can take a break,” Theodorakopoulos said. “And number two, we need to be extra vigilant… There's only six of us within a three-block radius to cover all of this. And we have a lot more ground here.”
That's what local attorney Aaron Rubery said earlier this week. wall street journal His wealthy neighborhood suddenly felt grim as friends from outside the border delivered supplies to lingerers like him who had disobeyed evacuation orders.
Aaron Rubery greets a neighbor who picked up supplies and milk for those affected by the Eaton Fire on January 14, 2025, in Altadena, California, outside his burned-out home. (Reuters/Mario Anzuoni)
“I feel like we're in the Wild West,” he told the newspaper.
The fire killed at least 24 people in just one week. Officials say they expect more deaths to be found.
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Further complicating the problem are looters and arsonists.
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, evacuation orders are mandatory, but evacuation warnings are advisory. Authorities are urging residents to pack their bags and prepare to move with pets and important documents.
FOX News' Max Bacall contributed to this report.
