Los Angeles Wildfires: Deputies Nab Faux Firefighters with Fake Gear, Truck
By Paloma Chavez
Source Merced Sun-Star (Merced, Calif.)
A pair was arrested after they were accused of posing as firefighters during the California fires, officials said.
On Jan. 18, Los Angeles deputies patrolling the Palisades Fire area saw a firetruck that looked unofficial, according to a Facebook post by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies were informed, and they stopped the truck as it was seen attempting to enter an evacuation zone, officials said.
That’s when officers approached the two people, later identified as Dustin Nehl, 31, and Jennifer Nehl, 44, the sheriff’s office said.
The two said they were from the “Roaring River Fire Department,” but deputies said they later learned that wasn’t a real agency, deputies said.
The two were wearing CAL-Fire T-shirts, with fire gear, helmets and had radios, officials said.
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They admitted to being in an evacuation zone Jan. 17, deputies said.
They were arrested in connection to impersonating a firefighter and entering an evacuation zone before their truck, that they bought at an auction, was impounded, officials said.
Anyone with information is asked to call 562-946-7893.
Palisades Fire
The Palisades Fire began Jan. 7 in a Los Angeles neighborhood west of downtown. As of Jan. 20, the fire remained 59% contained and destroyed more than 23,713 acres, according to CAL Fire.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Officials have confirmed at least 10 deaths from the fires, and more than 6,000 structures have been destroyed with nearly 800 damaged, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Thousands of people have been under evacuation orders, and “most of Pacific Palisades and parts of communities including Malibu, Brentwood and Topanga remained under evacuation orders” Jan. 19, according to the Los Angeles Times.
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