The town of Paradise, CA was under evacuation for 27 days during which time looting was fairly rampant except in the 2 neighborhoods patrolled by residents. Less than 2 years prior, the nearby larger town of Oroville was evacuated for a day and a half during which time police apprehended 8 looters and took 53 looting reports despite a public policy of not reporting incidents as looting unless "stealing large numbers of goods from a single place, such as a store."
Police & National Guard did not seem to have any problems distinguishing between LARPers on patrol and those doing the looting:
PS: While most avoided conflict, a few looters resisted violently, including 1 shot & killed by police: https://www.sfgate.com/california-wi...e-13396306.php