We stop thieves taking rich pickings from wildfire-devastated communities

4/26/2018 (Permalink)

There’s nothing more traumatic than fleeing a wildfire and knowing it’s going to devour your precious home. All your lifelong memories are about to be burned to the ground thanks to Mother Nature.

That’s the harsh reality hundreds of Californians are facing after America’s worst wildfire season ever recorded. The historic 2017 blazes torched hundreds of thousands of acres, and destroyed more than a thousand properties, many of which were family homes.

And there’s one more potential kick in the teeth for these devastated families. Fire-gutted communities are ripe picking grounds for heartless criminals focused on cashing in on other people’s misfortunes. 

“Criminals have been known to walk through burned out neighborhoods on the hunt for loose safes and other valuable items that survive fires. They steal the items, crack the safes, and sell things on – and there’s nothing the families can do about it,” said Jono Millin, co-founder of drone mapping software start-up DroneDeploy."

Read more at We stop thieves taking rich pickings from wildfire-devastated communities