Looters empty firefighter’s bank account while he fights California wildfires

The thieves allegedly went through the firefighter's truck while he was fighting a Santa Cruz fire with his crew between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. They took the firefighter's possessions and used his debit card to empty his bank account, according to the Santa Cruz sheriff's office.

"California's ongoing historic wildfires have forced tens of thousands of people from their homes, and police said looters are taking advantage of the empty houses," reported USA Today on Monday. "In one case, a looter took advantage of an unoccupied car. Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart on Sunday told reporters that a California firefighter’s marked vehicle was burglarized."

Sheriff Jim Hart of the Santa Cruz Police Department told reporters he "can’t imagine a bigger lowlife."

"To me, it's just mind-boggling that somebody would have the audacity to do something like that," he continued. "I'm confident we're going to find that person. When we do, we're going to keep him in the county jail and then we're going to hand that case over to the DA and the DA is going to hammer this guy."

"I have no empathy, I have no patience for somebody who is going to come into our community and steal from people who have been evacuated and victimized and traumatized," said Hart.

California law enforcement agencies have been working to keep up with the recent increase in looting. So far, eight people have been arrested for looting abandoned residencies since the evacuation order.

"That's the extent these people have gone," said Mark Brunton, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Battalion Chief at a press conference.

"Again, this is why we've asked for people to evacuate. The sheriff's department has done a fantastic job in trying to wrangle this, but again, this is what we have as a result."

According to CNN, a "total of 1.1 million [acres] have burned in the state" and roughly 13,000 firefighters are working to contain the fires—with some working full 24 hour shifts. The fires in 2020 have reportedly claimed more lives and land than in all of 2019.