(AP) — Authorities say six people have been arrested on suspicion of looting homes evacuated when a deadly fire swept through a Northern California town and several surrounding communities.
The Butte County Sheriff’s Office says deputies on Monday found two men hiding inside home in the town of Paradise with a .45 caliber handgun and drugs. Deputies also found an ATV, an AR-15 rifle and tools the men are suspected of stealing.
The office says deputies arrested two other men Tuesday with a laptop computer that didn’t belong to them.
A few hours later Tuesday, two more people were arrested after they were spotted in a motorhome reported stolen in the neighboring town of Magalia.
The fire that started Nov. 8 killed at least 48 people, displaced 52,000 and has destroyed 7,600 homes.