Defiant and armed Los Angeles homeowners in the scorched Altadena community have taken to the streets to defend the homes that remain standing — even if those streets have been blocked off by a police line amid evacuation orders and raging wildfires, residents say.
Authorities have arrested at least a dozen individuals in connection with looting and arson, and prosecutors in Los Angeles and neighboring Orange County have asked the governor to order stiffer penalties for looters.
Ignoring evacuation orders, Mike Leroy and Billy Theodorakopoulos told Fox News Digital they were protecting their neighborhood against looters.
At first, they stayed behind to try and protect their homes with garden hoses, keeping their rooftops and yards as wet as they could and directly battling a garage fire that reached a car's gas tank. Firefighters joined them briefly, helping contain the flames, but then moved on to other emergencies.
They decided to stay and ward off looters.
"We had one incident, early on," Leroy said. "But nothing afterwards. We've been seeing a lot of patrol, especially the past few nights."
He said they were taking a few hours of sleep between patrols and remaining on the lookout.
Theodorakopoulos' wife, Maggie, said she has taken to calling Altadena by a new name amid the chaos.
"Now I've renamed it ‘Texadena,’ since we're all walking around with our guns and stuff," she joked.
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Authorities have arrested at least a dozen individuals in connection with looting and arson, and prosecutors in Los Angeles and neighboring Orange County have asked the governor to order stiffer penalties for looters.
Ignoring evacuation orders, Mike Leroy and Billy Theodorakopoulos told Fox News Digital they were protecting their neighborhood against looters.
At first, they stayed behind to try and protect their homes with garden hoses, keeping their rooftops and yards as wet as they could and directly battling a garage fire that reached a car's gas tank. Firefighters joined them briefly, helping contain the flames, but then moved on to other emergencies.
They decided to stay and ward off looters.
"We had one incident, early on," Leroy said. "But nothing afterwards. We've been seeing a lot of patrol, especially the past few nights."
He said they were taking a few hours of sleep between patrols and remaining on the lookout.
Theodorakopoulos' wife, Maggie, said she has taken to calling Altadena by a new name amid the chaos.
"Now I've renamed it ‘Texadena,’ since we're all walking around with our guns and stuff," she joked.
Los Angeles wildfires: Armed homeowners patrol for looters inside evacuation zone
Wildfires have led to looting, and authorities say they will punish thieves to the fullest extent of the law.
