Home burglaries are up a staggering 450% year-over-year in Altadena, with thieves targeting the homes still standing in the Eaton Fire burn area.
There have been more than 140 residential break-ins reported in Altadena so far this year. Some houses have been hit several times.
Leslie Wright told KNX News’ Karen Adams her home was broken into while neighboring houses were still on fire.
“On January 8, I heard that my house was standing, but there were still fires around, so I came out to put them out,” she said. “I heard from the police later on that about an hour after I had left, someone had broken into the house, and they found the people in the house and arrested them.”
Wright and her family are still not able to live in their home because of lingering toxins from the fire, but she said they’ve learned one lesson from the break-in.
“You have to keep showing up,” she said. You have to be present at the home turning on lights, you know, we're flushing toilets and checking on plants and making sure that the house is still okay and part of that is being present.”
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has been sending extra patrols and anti-theft teams to patrol the fire zones. Noreen Vincent says she's comforted after noticing more deputies on patrol.
“I see a lot of the sheriffs and have spoken to some of them, and they've talked about the arrests that have been made, so they are keeping an eye on the place,” she said.
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Residents are also encouraged to sign up for the sheriff's department's free routine checks program.
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