Dozens of LA residents – some armed – are defying evacuation orders to protect their homes in ‘Wild West’

Aaron Lubeley is interviewed outside his burned home during the Eaton fire in Altadena, California. He’s now defending his property instead of evacuating - (REUTERS)

As the wildfires ravage Southern California, dozens of residents have refused to evacuate and have instead opted to defend their scorched properties from blazes and looters.

Nearly 88,000 people in Los Angeles County are still under evacuation orders as of Wednesday as the wildfires continue to scorch the region. But that hasn’t deterred roughly 80 locals in Altadena from sticking around, some of them armed, to stand their ground, the Wall Street Journal reported.