Rising Burglaries Plague Parts Of Fire-Scarred LA: Report

ALTADENA, CA — When Jenna and Howard Morris found out that their Altadena home had been burglarized the night they evacuated from the Eaton Fire, they had no idea that wouldn't be the end of their troubles, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Although it survived the fires, the home was ransacked and burglarized two more times in April — leaving the couple thousands of dollars in property damage, plus what was already endured during the fire itself.

“When we found out that our home survived, we had no idea that three months later we would be dealing with this,” Jenna Morris told the Times.

From the start of 2025 to April 15, the number of residential burglaries specifically reported in Altadena has spiked 450% since the same period last year, the Times reported, citing data from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

On the other hand, that data doesn't show the same spike. In fact, burglary rates remained relatively the same.

That disparity is leaving residents feeling anxious and unsupported.

“Why can’t we get the same type of security that Palisades is getting?” Altadena resident Natalie LaFourche told the Times. “It’s hard for me to accept that they don’t care about us in the same way that they care about Palisades.”

Read more from the Los Angeles Times: Soaring burglaries in post-fire Altadena rattle residents: ‘Trauma on top of the trauma’

During a recent burglary sting, LASD Lt. Ethan Marquez told NBC4 that 15 people were arrested in and around the Altadena fire-scarred area.

“Deputies just happened to come across a couple of people, tried to pretend that they were workers in the area and when they stopped and talked to them, it was very obvious that they were not workers and they were able to effect an arrest,” Marquez told the station.

The sheriff's department said it is going to keep sending additional patrols to reduce theft incidents while the community rebuilds. LASD also has a home-check program for residents to request a patrol of their homes. To request a check, send an email to AltadenaHomeCheck@LASD.org.