LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The California National Guard is set to arrive on Friday night in Lake County to assist local law enforcement with the task of protecting evacuated communities from looters and trespassers.
Sheriff Brian Martin told the Board of Supervisors during an emergency Friday afternoon meeting at the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport that the National Guard was on the way.
On Friday Martin requested National Guard military police respond to assist his agency as well as the many other law enforcement agencies from around the region that have been working to protect neighborhoods and arrest looters.
Several individuals have been arrested over the course of the week after they were discovered in the evacuated areas.
Many of the individuals had burglary tools and some had stolen property. One Bay Area man found near Hidden Valley Lake with two others was armed with a concealed weapon. A Cobb man was found driving a vehicle stolen from the Lower Lake area.
Earlier this week, the sheriff's office had started escorts into some of the evacuated areas, allowing residents to make 15-minute trips into their properties to feed pets and livestock.
While well-intentioned, Martin said the escorted trips seriously drained his agency's resources and took away from patrolling to prevent looting.
At one point during the special Friday meeting, Martin said, “It's been like herding cats, trying to catch these looters.”
Despite the sheriff's office's efforts over a two-day period, it wasn't able to help hundreds of people who wanted the escorted trips, according to Martin.
Martin said 50 National Guard military police teams are set to arrive Friday night from Pittsburg in Contra Costa County, and they will be on duty starting at 8 a.m. Saturday.
In a followup interview with Lake County News, Martin said his agency was working on a deployment plan for the military police on Friday evening, and was lining up vehicles for the teams.
“It's huge,” he said of the National Guard's willingness to come and assist the community.
They will assist with community patrol and enforcement of roadblocks, he said.
On Saturday, the military police also will assist with the effort to continue the escorted visits for evacuees to their properties, he said.
The sheriff's office said the escorted visits will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. More details are available here: www.bit.ly/1JfZoJt .
Martin said he expects the National Guard will be on the ground in Lake County for at least a week.
“They say they’re committed as long as we need them,” Martin said.
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Valley fire: National Guard responding to help protect and patrol communities
- Elizabeth Larson
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