Los Angeles wildfires: City's infamous red tape preventing private security from helping homeowners, firms say

Rich and famous residents of Los Angeles' fire-stricken Pacific Palisades community are frequent users of private security – but Los Angeles' infamous red tape is keeping some of their guards away from their clientele, according to private security experts.

At least 20 people have been arrested on looting-related charges, and authorities, while warning residents and copycats alike, said the numbers could rise.

Craig Paul, the CEO of ASC Private Security in Los Angeles, said he's got bodies on the ground willing to work, but he can't get authorization to send them inside restricted areas where his clients need them.

"I sat on hold for 45 minutes with the LAPD, with nobody ever picking up," he told Fox News Digital. "So I finally gave up on that, pretty much knowing that even if they answer the phone, they're going to blow me off."

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He said one of his customers snuck in behind police lines and hiked up a mountain to check on his property because he was so worried – then asked if his agents could do that, too. That's not an option, he said, but he's hopeful that police will let his teams in.

The Pacific Palisades community in particular, at the heart of one of the largest active wildfires, is a high-income community that already faces frequent threats of burglary and home invasion.

"These are $30-, $40-, $50 million homes with individuals that deserve to have that level of property properly protected," he said.

"Crime is awful," he added. "Regardless of what we sometimes hear in the news, if you really pay attention, there are burglaries every single night. Pacific Palisades happens to be one of the worst neighborhoods for crime right now. It's daily. There's home invasions and burglaries happening, so the homeowners are rightly so and needing and wanting their security to be able to gain access to their homes at a time like this."

While some private security firms are run by people with a law enforcement background, others are not, Paul said, and he sees a difference in how they are treated by authorities.

Even so, David Katz, the CEO of Global Security Group and a former Drug Enforcement Administration special agent, said his firm pulled out of Los Angeles years ago. 

"The looting is bad…People are staying and risking their lives because they know if they leave they will have their property stolen, if it doesn't end up burning," he told Fox News Digital. "I got tons of guys who could go, but they'd have to work under a waiver."

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Herman Weisberg, a former NYPD detective and the managing director of SAGE Intelligence, a private investigation firm that also supplies armed security to the stars, said some of his clients are fearful they may lose irreplaceable artwork and other belongings to looters if the flames don't reach them first.

"The government has a very, [and] obviously a horrible, really difficult job that they're dealing with," he told Fox News Digital. "And right now, we're in the worst part of it from my perspective, of trying to deal with my clients' needs and concerns and also trying to respect the government's job and try to work in conjunction with them instead of against them."

He said he hasn't seen a situation this bad since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005.

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"I've been up all night trying to work logistics on getting people there and getting people housed and getting appropriate vehicles and supplies," he said. "It's going to be tough couple of days for my industry and for government, law enforcement, fire department and obviously, most first and foremost, the families and individuals and companies that are affected."

On the other hand, the cancelation of Hollywood award shows was already lifting some of the burden, allowing him to move boots on the ground away from previously booked red carpet events and to helping clients in their own communities.

"Instead of standing on a red carpet protecting people, they'll be out there protecting people in their communities," he said. "The more stuff that Hollywood cancels the better it is for everybody, from a security standpoint."