Tom Brady has decided to hire a private security team to safeguard his $20 million Los Angeles mansion due to reports of looters taking advantage of the chaos caused by the ongoing wildfires.
The NFL star is not currently at his residence in Brentwood, a neighborhood on the Westside of LA, as the wildfires persist in the area, leading to widespread evacuations.
Firefighters are working tirelessly to contain four separate blazes in the Los Angeles area, but the situation remains precarious with weather experts warning of extremely high winds reaching speeds of up to 70mph.
More than 100,000 people have been forced out of their homes, while dozens more are unaccounted for.
Ten people have been charged in relation to crimes carried out during the wildfires.
Nine people are facing felony charges in connection to residential burglaries in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena, and a separate defendant has been charged with arson for intentionally starting a fire in the city of Azusa.
With such threats affecting areas caught up in the wildfires, some A-list celebrities have decided to take action by paying security teams to protect their homes.
Private security was spotted at Brady’s 420million LA mansion while he is away for the NFL playoffs, according to The Sun.
DailyMail.com reached out to Tom Brady’s spokespeople who said ‘no comment’.
Tom Brady (pictured on the field before the Eagles Packers wild card game) has hired a private security team to protect his $20million LA mansion, according to reports
Pictured: The reported mansion of Tom Brady which is allegedly being protected by private security during the LA wildfires due to cases of looting
Pictured: Brady recently underwent renovations on his 14,000-square-foot estate which is located in Brentwood and sits directly on the edge of the fires, The Sun reported
Brady recently underwent renovations on his 14,000-square-foot estate, the newspaper reported.
Portions of Brentwood sit in the mandatory evacuation zone while other parts are under a warning.
The Sun reported Brady was spotted in New York City, on the opposite side of the country, on Saturday.
It is not clear whether Brady will have time to return to California to check on his home next week, given his busy playoff schedule.
Residents in the areas not yet facing evacuation orders but subject to the Santa Ana winds have been warned to avoid mowing or trimming their dry grass, parking their cars on grass and to ensure campfires are ‘completely out.’
The Los Angeles medical examiner updated the death count on Sunday afternoon, revealing 24 people are now confirmed dead as a result of the fires.
Four fires have burned through 40,000 acres across the most affluent neighborhoods in LA, with celebrity homes and restaurants among the 12,300 structures wiped out.
Pictured: A man on a motorbike passes a sign that reads ‘Looters will be shot’ in a mandatory evacuation zone at the Eaton Fire on January 12, 2025 in Altadena, California
Pictured: Fire trucks drive by a mobile home park that was destroyed by the Palisades Fire on January 12
Pictured: Flames from the wind-driven Eaton Fire engulf a house in Altadena, California, January 8
It comes as the NFL recently issued a security alert to all teams and players following a series of recent burglaries of Kansas City Chiefs duo Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes.
Mahomes and Kelce saw their homes raided in October, with the latter thought to have lost $100,000 in jewelry and his first ever Super Bowl jersey.
Burglars are said to have targeted Mahomes’ Belton pad at around midnight on October 6.
Kelce’s $6million property across the border in Kansas was then broken into shortly after on October 7, the day the Chiefs faced the New Orleans Saints at Arrowhead Stadium with Taylor Swift watching on in the stands.
Miles Bliss, for the National Weather Service, provided a grim update on Sunday afternoon, warning strong Santa Ana winds which fueled the infernos last week will intensify once again.
‘Critical fire weather conditions will be expected during this time so please be prepared to evacuate if told so by officials,’ he said.
The weather is expected to contribute to another stint of dangerous and potentially extreme fire conditions which could exacerbate the fires already burning and cause more new ones to pop up.
Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said: ‘It’s very important that the community understands that these wind events are coming.’
These conditions have prompted a red flag warning until 6pm Wednesday.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said authorities won’t consider allowing displaced residents to return home until after that warning has been lifted.
‘Unfortunately, those conversations are not going to begin until the next predicted red flag ends on Wednesday,’ he said.
‘Please rest assured that first thing Thursday, we will start talking about re-population and evacuation order and warning areas,’ he said in a Sunday news conference.
