Share and Follow
(KTLA) – Amid concerns over looters targeting wildfire victims’ homes, some residents are defying evacuation orders and choosing to protect their properties instead.
The homeowners said they have chosen to stay put, taking security measures into their own hands while potentially snuffing out any embers that could ignite.
EveAnna Manley moved to Altadena 20 years ago and said she worked to prepare her home for natural disasters such as the Eaton Fire.
As of Wednesday, around 50 people had been arrested for alleged looting in wildfire evacuation zones across L.A.
Manley said she is fully prepared to face any looters who show up on her property.
“I do have firearms and I’ve been calling my friends to make sure I know how to legally exist with them,” she said.
-
EveAnna Manley chose not to evacuate her Altadena home to protect the property against looters or potential flare-ups from the Eaton Fire. (KTLA) -
A sign posted on EveAnna Manley’s front window alerting potential trespassers that she is armed. (KTLA) -
A sign posted on EveAnna Manley’s front lawn alerting potential trespassers that she is armed. (KTLA) -
EveAnna Manley speaks to KTLA’s Mary Beth McDade, explaining how she chose not to evacuate her Altadena home to protect the property against looters or potential flare-ups from the Eaton Fire. (KTLA) -
EveAnna Manley’s Altadena neighborhood remains closed to traffic and protected by local authorities and the National Guard. (KTLA) -
EveAnna Manley’s Altadena neighborhood remains closed to traffic and protected by local authorities and the National Guard. (KTLA)
Manley’s street is among many that remained closed to traffic and is guarded by authorities against trespassers.
“It’s a ‘hard no’ blockade and I’m glad for that,” she said. “I want the hard no because I don’t want anyone else up here. There have been reports of looting and that’s frightening. We don’t want that up here.”
Manley said she was inspired by her neighbor to prepare her home for future disasters like the Eaton Fire.
“He had 55-gallon drums of water,” she recalled of her neighbor. “He had a reloading center. He put in a whole-house generator and I followed after that. I learned from him.”
She removed the wood shingles on her home’s exterior and replaced them with concrete shingles.
“We do live in California, after all, so there can be earthquakes, mudslides,” Manley explained.
Due to her years of preparation, she said she didn’t feel the need to evacuate when the Eaton Fire arrived in her neighborhood.
After power was shut off in the area, Manley has been focused on helping other neighbors who also chose to stay by offering hot showers, access to laundry and hot food.
As of Wednesday night, the Eaton Fire had burned 14,117 acres and was 45% contained.
Local authorities and fire officials continue to recommend all residents heed evacuation warnings when active.
On Tuesday, L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer proposed legislation to make looting during a local emergency a felony punishable with a state prison sentence.
It would also classify looting as a strike under California’s Three Strikes Law and make it harder to expunge from a criminal record.
