California has been plagued by devastating fires in its Los Angeles region since January 7. The Eaton and Palisades fires spanned thousands of acres, forcing residents to flee their homes. According to a latest report, at least 25 people have lost their lives.
Looters would take advantage of this situation, Internet users write on social networks. The latter use as evidence a video of people carrying objects not far from burning houses. But do these images really show scenes of looting?
Evaluation
No. This video shows members of a family helping a fire victim to evacuate personal belongings from their home.
Facts
A reverse image search using a screenshot of the video provides first clues to its origin. It was notably published on Instagram on January 9, 2025. The caption indicates that these viral images show brothers helping their sister to save her personal belongings from her house in Los Angeles. It is also written that the victim was interviewed by the Californian television channel KTLA.
Interview and direct
Indeed, in a special live broadcast on the fires ravaging Los Angeles, KTLA5 News interviewed this woman whose home partially burned. At the beginning of this excerpt, we can hear the journalist say that the residents of this neighborhood, accompanied by their friends, are emptying their homes preventively.
-Facing the camera, the victim explains how his valuables were hastily removed from his house with the help of his relatives and in particular his brothers. These “brothers” she speaks of are filmed during the interview. We then recognize the man in the red sweater and tracksuit who evacuates the television in the viral video. The boy carrying a white bag on his shoulders in the street is also briefly filmed by the camera on the doorstep of the evacuated house. These people are therefore not looting the home, but are coming to support their loved one.
The victim’s home is located in Altadena, a burned area where the Eaton Fire is still burning. The home is recognizable in the background of the video posted on social networks.
Looting and arrests
Although this video does not show looting, the American police nevertheless arrested around thirty people in the areas affected by the fires for burglaries. According to a police source, individuals disguised as firefighters trying to enter the evacuation zone were also arrested.
(Situation as of 16.1.2025)
