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A sign posted in front of a home in Altadena, California, at the center of the aftermath of the California fires states, “Looters will be shot.” (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
At first, they stayed behind to try and protect their homes with garden hoses, keeping their rooftops and yards as wet as they could and directly battling a garage fire that reached a car’s gas tank. Firefighters joined them briefly, helping contain the flames, but then moved on to other emergencies.
They decided to stay and ward off looters.
Maggie and Billy Theodorakopoulos stand outside of their home in Altadena. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
I’ve renamed it “Texadena,” since we’re all walking around with our guns.
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“We had one incident, early on,” Leroy said. “But nothing afterwards. We’ve been seeing a lot of patrol, especially the past few nights.”
He said they were taking a few hours of sleep between patrols and remaining on the lookout.
A sign posted in front of a home at the center of the aftermath of the California fires states, “Looters will be shot.” (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Theodorakopoulos’ wife, Maggie, said she has taken to calling Altadena by a new name amid the chaos.
“Now I’ve renamed it ‘Texadena,’ since we’re all walking around with our guns and stuff,” she joked.
Without power, the holdouts set up a makeshift camp with a solar-powered shower.
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The pair said they were hoping more of their neighbors would join them.
An Altadena resident walks past a sign in front of her home on January 13, 2025 warning looters they will be shot, which she put up due to concern of looters in the neighborhhood taking advantage of the situation following the Eaton Fire which caused widespread damage. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)
“We need the neighbors to come home so that we can take a break,” Theodorakopoulos said. “And No. 2, we need more vigilance… There’s only six of us in a three-block radius to cover all this, and there’s a lot more territory here.”
Earlier this week,The Wall Street Journal reported that some armed homeowners were interrogating strangers they found in the closed-off community.
The fires have killed at least 24 people in just over a week. Authorities say they expect to discover more fatalities.
