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LA County Sheriff's Department offering free home checks for wildfire victims

CBS News Live
CBS News Los Angeles Live

Altadena residents can have the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department check on their homes for free as the Eaton Fire cleanup efforts continued through the weekend. 

The free service will send a deputy or trained volunteer to check on properties and check for any unlocked windows or doors, evidence of possible forced entry and any suspicious activity. 

Anyone interested in the home checks should email altadenahomecheck@lasd.org with their name, address and a phone number deputies can call. Deputies urged interested residents or business owners to call their local sheriff station for more information. 

More than two weeks ago, Altadena and surrounding communities lost entire neighborhoods as the 100 mph winds fueled the second-most destructive wildfire in California history. The Eaton Fire leveled roughly 9,400 buildings and damaged 1,000 structures. According to Cal Fire, 102,821 residents living in 38,608 households were within the incident area, which includes the fire's footprint and affected communities.

Nearly 600 residents remain in six of the evacuation shelters in Southern California, according to Cal Fire. While firefighters have finished repopulation and damage assessment efforts, nearly 7,000 buildings do not have electricity and cleanup crews have not finished removing hazardous debris from the burn scars.

 Los Angeles County has provided preliminary maps that show which structures and homes are damaged or destroyed.   

Deputies arrested 39 people in the areas affected by the Palisades and Eaton fires. Sheriff Robert Luna said the majority of those arrests were made near the Eaton Fire.

Hochman has charged dozens with various crimes, including looting, during the fires.

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