West
LA's rich and famous made 'odd request' of private armies as wildfires fueled fear, boss says
Some of the most wealthy and famous residents of Los Angeles are investing in private armies for protection as California continues to deal with the aftermath of the deadly wildfires and looters and scammers target affluent homeowners.
MPS Security is one of the security companies residents are turning to as they work to rebuild what they lost in the wildfires.
“When it first happened, they were only letting security companies up in the areas, so they were only letting people check on their houses if they could afford it,” Matthew Crider, executive protection manager at MPS Security, shared with Fox News Digital.
“I think that was kind of a downside. I felt like people didn’t know if their houses were still there. They had no power there. They probably use some type of camera system that needed power and definitely needed Wi-Fi, so that really did kind of take a toll on us.”
ESSENTIAL PHONE NUMBERS FOR LOS ANGELES-AREA RESIDENTS AND HOW YOU CAN HELP THEM
The sun rises over the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of west Los Angeles in the aftermath of devastating wildfires last month. (Maria Alejandra Cardona/Reuters)
Crider said they had clients who would ask them to check on a neighbor’s home and see if it was still standing, offering help to those who couldn’t afford private detail. His agents would take photos of the debris and send them back to their clients for proof of destruction and to try to help residents determine if they lost everything or still had a home.
“It’s extremely heartbreaking that that’s how they found out. But we did do a lot of them to where, ‘Hey, your house is still here. I mean there’s some damage to the fence or whatnot, but it’s still there,’” Crider explained. “So with that, it’s definitely hard. But we did do that for some of our clients that asked us to because we did feel that it was kind of unfair that only security companies could go do patrols, and you had to pay that company to go see if your house was OK.”
LOS ANGELES COUNTY DA SAYS 9 CHARGED WITH LOOTING HOMES IN WILDFIRE ZONES, 1 WITH ARSON
Crider shared a new request that their team had never had before: protection for the debris.
“I have never gotten that type of request before, so it was definitely kind of different because we’re watching, in a way, just rubble. But they just didn’t want – they were wealthy individuals, and they just did not want their stuff to be gone,” Crider said.
LOS ANGELES BURGLARY SUSPECT DISGUISED AS FIREFIGHTER, AS LOOTING ARRESTS REACH ABOUT 29 PEOPLE: SHERIFF
A sign posted in front of a home in Altadena, Calif. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Crider said a lot of their clients also had safes, which he said are typically fireproof, that housed a lot of their clients’ most valuable items.
The need for private security has increased for their company, Crider said, especially after the fires as people sought peace of mind that their belongings were safe.
“The police can only do so much, so we looked at the whole aspect of it and the clients want more of that security, and so they sleep better at night,” Crider explained.
“I can only imagine being in that area and staying in your house, and you want to go through what’s left of it and afraid that, because of your status, someone’s going to go in and try to take stuff. It’s a heartbreaking type of thing on that one.”
Through the devastation, Crider said there has been some light and seeing the communities band together to protect each other from crime coming in.
“We’re running into a lot of houses, three or four different houses willing to pay for security for one agent to be out there. So they are coming together as a community for it. I mean, it’s really sad that they have to have security for something that has completely burnt down.”
Crider added that while his team deals with the physical aspects of crime, there are other crimes they are seeing and hearing about, including disaster relief fraud, scams and potential squatter situations.
“There’s a lot of different crimes that I was just reading about, one for FEMA fraud. People are saying that they’re the people living there, and they’re not really living there, and they’re trying to collect the money on it, which is cybercrime,” Crider said.
LOS ANGELES WILDFIRES: ARMED HOMEOWNERS PATROL FOR LOOTERS INSIDE EVACUATION ZONE
An Altadena resident walks past a sign in front of her home on Jan. 13, 2025. (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
Another company that people are turning to in the wake of the wildfires is Covered Six.
The company said it has deployed a special response team to help those affected by the Los Angeles wildfires.
“The COVERED 6 Special Response Team has been deployed to the Palisades Wildfire area to support communities threatened by both the fire itself as well as the increased occurrence of crime in these areas,” the company wrote in an alert on their website. “There may be a delay in our ability to respond to inquiries during this time, and we will make every effort to respond in a timely manner.”
According to the company’s website, they provide “large scale support operations in all aspects of public safety.”
“The threatscape of public safety has changed. Volatility and uncertainty, are common and resources are thin. Being more nimble and less restricted, Covered 6 can quickly deploy a variety of solutions to assist the public mission,” the company website reads.
In response to the mounting crime occurring during the wildfires, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said it increased security measures and announced the creation of the “Looter Suppression Team.”
“This dedicated unit is composed of personnel drawn from multiple LASD divisions, each bringing specialized expertise to combat looting and other criminal activities that can arise during times of community vulnerability,” according to a previous statement from the department.
The team will operate with additional deputy personnel assigned to increase patrol operations, officials noted.
The agency’s AERO Bureau will conduct aerial patrols, providing enhanced surveillance and rapid response capabilities to ensure comprehensive coverage of the affected areas, according to the statement.
“Together, these efforts ensure continuous 24-hour patrolling to provide a consistent and visible law enforcement presence, particularly in neighborhoods still dealing with utility outages and heightened security risks,” officials said.
Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com
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San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Giants honor Willie Mays with highway designation on what would have been his 95th birthday
The San Francisco Giants announced a fitting tribute to one of the best players in the history of Major League Baseball on Wednesday afternoon.
Willie Mays, the legendary center fielder and Hall of Famer, would have turned 95 on Wednesday. And the Giants, in conjunction with Mays’ Say Hey Foundation, along with several other sponsoring parties, will be designating a portion of a local freeway as the Willie Mays Highway.
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Hall of Famer Willie Mays tips his cap during introductions for Game 1 of the World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Detroit Tigers in San Francisco on Oct. 24, 2012. (Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee/AP)
This designation will cover a portion of Interstate 80 where the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge reaches the city near Oracle Park, the Giants’ home stadium. Signs on I-80 have already been installed with the new designation, a way for Mays to become a permanent part of the San Francisco Bay Area and his home franchise.
Giants personnel spoke about the honor and what it meant to have a “reminder” of his infectious spirit and personality next to the stadium.
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“What an incredibly special way to honor Willie’s legacy,” said Larry Baer, Giants president and CEO according to MLB.com “For generations, this portion of I-80 on the Bay Bridge has carried Giants fans into San Francisco, and now it will forever carry Willie’s name—a lasting reminder of the joy and inspiration he brought to this city. It is also fitting that this same span of the bridge is named after former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown Jr., two great San Franciscans.”
San Francisco Giants players Orlando Cepeda and Willie Mays stand at the Polo Grounds in New York on Sept. 11, 1963, during a game against the New York Mets. (Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty Images)
Mays came to the Bay with the Giants in 1958, and has a list of accomplishments to rival any other player in MLB history. A 24-time All-Star, two-time MVP, 12-time Gold Glove winner and 660 home runs, the sixth-highest number by an individual player.
Jeff Idelson, the executive director of the Say Hey Foundation, also issued a statement celebrating the announcement.
“Wille was more than a baseball great, he was a part of the fabric that helped define San Francisco culture for more than a half century,” said Idelson. “Not only is this a fitting way to recognize his lasting contribution to the community, but it furthers Willie’s legacy as a national icon.”
Willie Mays visits PS 46 in Harlem, next to the site of the former Polo Grounds where the New York Giants played before moving to San Francisco in 1958, on Jan. 21, 2011, in New York City. (Michael Nagle/Getty Images)
One of the state senators who introduced the bill paving the way for this designation was Bill Dodd from nearby Napa, who also added, “I cannot think of anyone better to welcome people traveling across the Bay Bridge to San Francisco than Willie Mays. He was an inspiration to so many of us growing up. I was so pleased to have had a part in making this happen.”
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The combination of speed, power, defense and joy Mays played the game with is incredibly rare, which is why his legacy is still viewed with such importance today, nearly 53 years after he retired. Hopefully, the next generation of baseball fans will stay familiar with his career thanks to this reminder.
DENVER — Denver leaders say the city is ready to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention.
Local and state leaders came together Wednesday to show off the city, giving the Democratic National Committee its third of five site tours across the country.
Among the finalists are Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Denver.
“In 2028 Democrats will gather at the national convention to reaffirm the core principles of our party and nominate the next President of the United States of America,” Ken Martin, chair for the Democratic National Committee, said.
READ MORE: Denver selected as finalist to host Democratic National Convention in 2028
He said the process of selecting the host city is a “serious and deliberative one.”
The selection will be based on factors including hotel space, transit and airport access, venues, restaurants and bars, and culture, among other things.
Colorado Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib made the case for what Denver brings to the table.
“Denver offers a town square, a place to debate, place to energize and a place to organize around the ideals that have always propelled this country forward with fairness, justice and the pursuit of happiness, and that’s what the West has always provided,” Murib said.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis also joined in the pitch. Johnston acknowledged it has been 18 years since Denver last hosted the DNC in 2008, but said he believes the event could bring in half a billion dollars in economic activity to the city.
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Denver leaders pitch city as host for 2028 Democratic National Convention
“It’s four consecutive days of prime-time national television of 50,000 or more people in the city, hosting parties, events, gatherings, and so it’s a huge economic impact for us,” Johnston said.
Hosting the convention comes with a significant cost to the city as well. Johnston said Denver has a plan in place to cover it.
“That is certainly part of the question the convention will have, is each city’s ability to fundraise for the convention,” Johnston said. “We’ve built a very detailed financial plan to lay out our path to raise the resources that we would need to do and we’re prepared to do that.”
Denver Democrats are hoping to recreate the success of the 2008 DNC, nearly two decades later.
“Hosting a national convention, of course, can be a great economic boon for any city with over 35,000 delegates, guests and members of the press in attendance; the Democratic National Convention helps showcase its host city as a world class destination,” Martin said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Bryan Woo was the best pitcher the Seattle Mariners had in 2025 as they made their run to the playoffs.
He looked like that guy again on Wednesday afternoon.
Seattle Mariners 3, Atlanta Braves 1: Recap | Box score | Standings
Woo shook off a pair of recent shaky outings to go six scoreless, one-hit innings to lead the Mariners to a 3-1 win that clinched a series victory over the MLB-leading Atlanta Braves.
The 26-year-old right-hander worked around a pair of walks while tying his season-high with nine strikeouts.
Woo had a 2.25 ERA through his first five starts of the season, but he ran into trouble on Seattle’s last road trip, allowing seven runs on nine hits including four home runs at St. Louis on April 25. He struggled again last Friday, giving up four runs in the first inning and six runs total over six frames in a loss at home to Kansas City.
Those two outings pushed Woo’s ERA up to 4.61, but he lowered it to 4.02 on the year with his start Wednesday.
What Rowland-Smith sees in Woo’s recent struggles
With Woo dominant on the mound, the Mariners’ offense didn’t need to do too much to build a lead against the Braves. Seattle went up 1-0 when designated hitter Cal Raleigh came up with no outs and hit into a bases-loaded double play in the third inning, scoring catcher Jhonny Pereda.
Julio Rodríguez contributed with a little more volume in the sixth inning, blasting a 436-foot solo home run to center off of Braves starter Martín Pérez to put the M’s up 2-0. And after the Braves scored one in the eighth, team RBI leader Cole Young added some insurance by bringing home Josh Naylor home with his second double of the game.
The Mariners came back to beat Atlanta 5-4 on Monday, then had to bounce back Wednesday after falling 3-2 Tuesday night following Braves slugger Matt Olson’s go-ahead homer off of closer Andrés Muñoz in the ninth inning.
Seattle improved to 18-20 with the win, while the Braves dropped to 26-12. It was the first series loss of 2026 for Atlanta.
Houston Astros lose star Carlos Correa for season
The M’s are off Thursday, then begin a seven-game road trip at 4:40 p.m. Friday against the White Sox in Chicago. Mariners Radio Network coverage on Seattle Sports of that series opener will begin at 3:30 with the pregame show.
More on the Seattle Mariners
• Top prospect Colt Emerson snaps slump with HR, three-hit game
• M’s prospect Kade Anderson could benefit from new challenge
• Mariners place Gabe Speier on IL, add two lefty relievers
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