Amid the chaos of the wildfires scorching Southern California, a man was arrested on Saturday night for impersonating a firefighter during attempts to burglarize a home in the Palisades Fire area. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna alerted the public during a Sunday press briefing, explaining the unsettling scene he encountered. "When I was out there in the Malibu area, I saw a gentleman that looked like a firefighter. And I asked him if he was okay because he was sitting down - I didn't realize we had him in handcuffs," said Luna, as stated by FOX LA.
The man, whose impersonation went as far as dressing in fire boots, jeans, and a yellow fire jacket emblazoned with Cal Fire’s old acronym CDF, was subsequently handed over to the Los Angeles Police Department. As the community deals with the trauma of fire's destruction, officials are contending with a surge in criminal activities within the evacuation zones, with 29 arrests around the wildfires, including those for burglary, curfew violation, narcotics, and carrying concealed firearms, according to ABC7.
Authorities have not released information regarding the identities of the alleged looters or whether they were in possession of stolen property. Officials confirmed that the individual dressed as a firefighter has been released, though the status of the suspect wearing a helmet and boots remains unclear. Meanwhile, approximately 50 miles away in Irwindale, firefighters responding to a small brush fire near Rivergrade Road and the 605 Freeway spotted an individual allegedly starting fires. The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Ruben Montes of Baldwin Park, was taken into custody by police, as mentioned in a report by KTLA.
