LA fire arrests: 2nd person in custody for impersonating a firefighter in Palisades
A second person has been arrested for impersonating a firefighter in the Palisades Fire zone, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Wednesday morning during a press briefing.
The most recent arrest happened overnight.
"Somebody else who was dressed like a fireman; he was not a fireman," Luna said. "I got to give a lot of credit to our deputies for being proactive, stopping him, and arresting him."
Luna didn’t provide additional details.
One other person was arrested over the weekend in a similar nature.
In that case, Luna said the suspect had been attempting to burglarize a home while impersonating a firefighter.
RELATED: Man arrested for impersonating a firefighter in Palisades fire zone
44 fire-related arrests
Those arrests have been among several that happened as several wildfires continue to burn across Southern California.
Luna said 44 wildfire-related arrests have been made since the fires started on Jan. 7. He said 36 of those were connected to the Eaton Fire, and 8 were connected to the Palisades Fire.
Fourteen of the arrests have been for burglary, and others have been for curfew violations, trespassing, or drugs or weapons possession.
RELATED: LA fires update: Super scooper damaged by drone ready to fly again
A small number of drone-related arrests have also been made. One drone incident made headlines for damaging one of two fire-fighting super scooper planes that are on loan from Canada.
At least three people have been arrested in recent days on suspicion of trying to start other fires.
RELATED: 3 more arson arrests made as fire threat grows, LAPD chief says
Current LA fires
The Eaton Fire burning just north of Los Angeles and the Palisades Fire that destroyed much of the seaside LA neighborhood of Pacific Palisades broke out Jan. 7.
Sheriff Luna said 82,400 people were still under evacuation orders Wednesday, and more than 90,000 were under evacuation warnings as the area braced for continued dangerous weather conditions.
More than 90,000 households were without electricity Wednesday morning as utilities shut off power to prevent their lines from sparking new blazes.
A 6 p.m. - 6 a.m. curfew effect is still in order for the affected areas.
The Source: Information in this article was taken from Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna’s public comments during a press briefing on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2025. Information about previous arrests and fire background was taken from previous FOX 11 reporting. This story was reported from Detroit.