British woman living in LA fears fires – and looters

As well as the fires, residents are concerned about the threat of looting.

“It’s well publicised which areas are evacuated, so looters know which houses are empty,” Mrs Hand said.

“I even had someone come to my door last night and peer through the window.”

So far police have arrested about 20 people for raiding abandoned buildings, with a curfew put in place by authorities.

“My husband, who is a police officer, has been told to be on standby to knock on doors to get people evacuated and to protect homes from looters,” she said.

“Thank you for all the good wishes from home and everybody here is rooting for us, which is really nice.”