Nearly three dozen people have been taken into custody after entering closed evacuation areas in Los Angeles County, authorities announced Monday amid ongoing efforts to clamp down on persistent looting.
Police said a total of 34 people have been arrested, including 30 people who were arrested after violating a 12-hour curfew in the area of the Eaton Fire, which has devastated wide swathes of the foothill community of Altadena. An additional four people were arrested in the area of the Palisades Fire.
"We understand, again, that people want to go back, but it is dangerous to do so, and we will not put anybody's safety at risk," Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told reporters. "If you do not have business in the evacuation areas, do not go there. Please. You're infringing upon the work that our first responders need to attend to."
Arrests were made for a variety of offenses, not just looting, including curfew violations, operating a drone unlawfully, and possession of narcotics and firearms in evacuation zones.
Authorities issued a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew for parts of Los Angeles and its surrounding county last week that remains in effect as firefighters continue to battle raging infernos that have destroyed thousands of structures in the area and claimed the lives of 24 people.
In nearly a week spent trying to contain the blazes, firefighters have made the greatest progress in bringing the Hurst Fire, the smallest of the fires, to heel after it consumed nearly 800 acres in the San Fernando Valley. It is now 89% contained.
Containment has been far more measured on the two largest fires -- the Palisades and Eaton Fires -- which have burned nearly 24,000 and over 14,000 acres respectively. The Palisades Fire is just 14% contained while the Eaton Fire is 33% contained.
Residents across Los Angeles are bracing for what the National Weather Service is warning will be a "Particularly Dangerous Situation" as powerful and dangerous winds are expected to return this week, raising fears over the ongoing firefighting effort.
Winds are expected to gust up to 70 mph (113 kph) across three areas in Ventura County and northwest Los Angeles County where the Palisades and Hurst Fires have caused widespread devastation. Fears are mounting that the return of the Santa Anas combined with exceptionally low humidity of between 8-15% could imperil progress made on the three major blazes that are continuing to rage in America's second-largest city.
