Dear CalMatters reader,

After the Eaton Fire leveled more than 9,400 structures in the Altadena community in January, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger spotted a disturbing Facebook post titled “Eaton Fire Hall of Shame.”

An Altadena resident posted that a tow company called her husband in the middle of the night during the fire, claiming the city had authorized it to tow their car.  Weeks later they learned the company had taken the vehicle to Ontario and was demanding $3,000 to return it.

Other residents responded to the post, recounting similar scams.

Barger asked the residents to contact her if they had suspicious experiences with tow companies amid the wildfire, said Helen Chavez Garcia, spokesperson for the supervisor’s office. 

“She thought it was egregious that just one person experienced this,” Chavez Garcia said. “As more information came to her office, we found out that there were more people affected by this.”

When Barger contacted the Inland Empire Auto Insurance Fraud Task Force, she learned  the Eaton Fire was just the latest occasion when “bandit” tow companies targeted motorists, hauling cars to shops in Riverside or San Bernardino counties and then holding them for ransoms of thousands of dollars.

“They did it before there was any perimeter set up, before the (California Highway Patrol) got there, while the fire was still going,” said task force supervisor Sgt. Regina Garay. “A lot of people have filed stolen car claims; tow companies just took them.”

Officials don’t know how many cars were fraudulently towed.

Last year, the task force — which includes the state Department of Insurance, California Highway Patrol and Riverside and San Bernardino County district attorneys —  investigated and charged 16 people accused of stealing money, property or personal information in similar auto fraud incidents starting in 2022. That alleged auto fraud ring made false insurance claims for the towed vehicles totalling more than $216,932, the Insurance Department said. 

In those cases, unscrupulous tow truck operators responded to reported accidents, claiming to represent drivers’ insurance companies, the department said.

“(Drivers) are already nervous, scared, maybe even hurt,” Garay said. Tow companies "would tow the car to a body shop and have them sign papers, offer them a ride home. And then they find the body shop is holding their car for ransom … for a large ransom.”

Investigators don’t have evidence that the fraud ring cases were connected to the Eaton Fire incidents, Garay said. 

“It's not that it has to do directly with the case, it just happens to be bandit tow companies,” she said.

The state Insurance Department cautioned drivers to look for certain red flags. Tow truck drivers may show up within minutes of an accident, ask the driver to sign documents and then take the car to a specific body shop rather than requesting the driver’s preferred shop. 

Anyone who suspects a tow company is not legitimate should verify it with their insurance company or wait for the Highway Patrol to confirm it. Drivers shouldn’t sign any documents at an accident site without contacting their insurance company.

Barger’s office said some wildfire survivors are still trying to recover their cars.

“I find it disgusting that these fraudulent tow operators exploited fire survivors during their time of distress,” Barger said in a statement. “Those behind this abhorrent scheme must be held accountable and brought to justice.”

The city of Riverside plans to transform a long-unused golf course into a recreational area with an outdoor adventure center, along with a hotel, grocery store and retail.

City officials are negotiating with Adrenaline Sports Resorts to build an 85-acre public park with biking, hiking, trails, climbing, play areas, and open space next to an existing park. Visitors can also pay to use an aquatics facility with a whitewater rafting course, wave lagoon, surf park, and boathouse, as well as a zip-line, rope course, climbing walls and an amphitheater.

City officials said the project could support 2,800 jobs. The company plans to design the Riverside Adventure Center to Olympic standards so it can apply to host Olympic sports events, including whitewater canoeing and kayaking, 

climbing, skateboarding, BMX cycling, surfing and biathlon competitions.

A bald eagle family in Big Bear Valley just welcomed two new eaglets. The breeding pair, Jackie and Shadow, have been tending a clutch of three eggs in a 14-story Jeffrey Pine near Big Bear Lake.

One of those began to pip — or crack — on Sunday, starting the first phase in the hatching process. A second egg began pipping Monday. The first eaglet hatched Monday night and the second followed Tuesday morning. A third egg is still unhatched in the eyrie.

The pair’s latest chick had been Spirit, who pipped three years ago Sunday. 

The hatching process can take a day or two. Eagle enthusiasts can watch the eagles and their hatchlings on the Big Bear Bald Eagle Live-Feed Nest Cam.

Bald Eagles are one of North America's largest birds, weighing about 8 to 14 pounds, with a wingspan up to 8 feet. They were near extinction in the lower 48 states before conservation efforts helped restore their population. Now about 1,000 eagles live in 41 California counties.

While you are here, please sign up for the Inland Empire newsletter and let me know what kinds of stories you’d love to read.

And please add my email to your contacts:  inlandempire@calmatters.org

Thanks for reading,