The Santa Monica Police Department arrested a dozen burglary suspects, all of whom live outside the Santa Monica area.

Some looters in Los Angeles are using wildfire evacuation maps to find empty homes and burglarize them, police said. Police officers have been on high alert looking for looters ever

Fires are expected to worsen throughout Los Angeles as the Santa Ana winds strengthen overnight The post Mandatory Evacuations Ordered for Northern Santa Monica as Palisades Fire Spreads appeared first on TheWrap.

Authorities across Los Angeles have been alert to potential crimes happening in evacuation zones amid the damaging wildfires.

The Santa Monica Police Department has made over 40 arrests from the start of the Palisades Fire on Jan. 7 through Jan. 13. The department said all of those arrested were in the city’s evacuation zones and most of them violated the curfew put in place by law enforcement,

Police discovered two suspects carrying concealed handguns, while six others possessed burglary tools. In one notable case, a pair of suspects had opened the Watch Duty app on their phones, apparently using it to track evacuation zones.

Police have arrested more than 40 people within evacuation zones in the Santa Monica area. Most of the suspects were in violation of local emergency orders, including the city and county-wide curfew.