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Hundreds of burning guns have been found in the ashes of the house destroyed by the Palisade fire in the Pacific Ocean.
Examiners and detectives within the firearms unit within the LAPD forensic department are working to find serial numbers or other identification clues so that rifles, shotguns and handguns are officially recorded as returning or destroying them to legal owners.
“You don’t want immeasurable firearms,” Det. Pat Hoffman, who oversees the department’s gun unit, said there is no question about what happened in the case of an investigation months or years later, as all firearms need to be recorded.
“When you retrieve these firearms, if you can identify them by model, characteristics, or serial number, they will be entered into the (automatic firearms) system,” Hoffman said.
He burned guns that were stored in fire-resistant safes because the heat from the fire was so intense in some places.
“It’s an eye-opening experience,” explained Hoffman. “When you first get the first batch of recovered firearms, you really get a true picture of how destructive the fire is and how bad it is.”
With most guns, wood stock or handles burned out while metal parts looked like scrap.
According to Matthew Saucedo, a criminal with the LAPD Firearms Unit, the examiner sometimes has to open the barrel to make sure there is no inside of the live round to make sure there is no inside of the live round.
“They are from slightly burning to places where the barrels are distorted and bent or completely collapsed, which are violently rusted and corroded,” explained Saucedo.
Many of the weapons are traditional firearms, but the other weapons seem unique and sometimes irreplaceable. That’s why LAPD spends quite a bit of time trying to find a legal owner.
“It could have been a family heirloom to reclaim that property that could have been sentimental value, and that’s our ultimate goal and purpose,” explained Hoffman.
Authorities are encouraging Palisade fire victims to reach out to LAPD if they lose their guns in the fire.
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