LA Residents Track Price Gougers On Their Own

Here are the morning’s top stories on Thursday, January 23, 2025…

• California Attorney General Rob Bonta is continuing to track price gouging in the aftermath of the Eaton and Palisades wildfires. On Wednesday, Bonta announced charges against a Southern California real estate agent for gouging a couple who lost their home to the fires. It’s yet another challenge facing people who lost their homes, who are just trying to figure out where to live. And some residents are tracking price gougers on their own.
• Another fire in Southern California erupted Wednesday. The Hughes Fire burning north of Los Angeles near Lake Castaic, has burned more than 10,000 acres.
• An organization representing farmworkers has received postcards threatening people without legal status.

LA Residents Take It Upon Themselves To Monitor Price Gouging

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed criminal charges Tuesday against a Los Angeles County real estate agent accused of violating the state’s ban on post-disaster price gouging.

Bonta has been tracking price gouging in the aftermath of the Eaton and Palisades fires. But local residents are doing the same. Shortly after the fires broke out, Asha Irani decided to post a TikTok that’s gone viral. “Hi everyone. Here to talk about how to find and report predatory Los Angeles landlords who are taking advantage of fire victims and jacking up their prices,” she said in the post. Irani shows viewers how to find price histories on real estate sites like Trulia and Zillow.

During a state of emergency, most landlords can only raise rents by 10%.  Members of the LA Tenants Union have compiled a spreadsheet of well over 1,000 listings they say exceed the 10%  threshold. Irani said for her, it was a way to help fire victims.

Hughes Fire Burns Through More Than 10,000 Acres In Castaic

Around 31,000 people are under evacuation orders after the Hughes Fire broke out Wednesday near Castaic Lake and quickly grew to more than 10,000 acres. Evacuation warnings are also in place for around 23,000 residents.

The fire started shortly before 11 a.m. on Lake Hughes Road near Castaic Lake and burned through hundreds of acres within minutes. In the first three hours of the fire, 5,000 acres burned.

The National Weather Service has extended a red flag warning in the area until 10 a.m. Friday — with a high wind advisory in place until 2 p.m. Thursday.

Threatening Postcards Sent To United Farm Worker Offices  

Postcards were sent to three offices of the United Farm Workers union, including two in the Central Valley.

They read “report illegal aliens” and “there is nowhere to hide.” They include a phone number and web site to send tips to federal immigration officials. It’s the latest move intimidating farmworkers, many of whom lack legal status.

A string of arrests by Border Patrol in Kern County earlier this month reportedly forced many of them to avoid work for fear of deportation. It’s unclear who sent the postcards. They appear to have been postmarked in Oakland. In place of a return address, the backs of the cards merely read “Trumps coming.”

Similar fliers have been reported in various cities at other times, including during the first Trump administration.