California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Thursday announced his office has opened investigations into reports of price-gouging in the Southern California areas ravaged by devastating wildfires. “We have boots on the ground conducting investigations as we speak,” he said in a Thursday press conference.

Price-gouging rules in place because of the L.A. County fires apply even in cases of bidding wars for rental property, state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said.

Southern California’s expensive housing market is going to get a lot more competitive after deadly firestorms torched more than 12,000 homes and other structures in the Los Angeles area, leaving tens of thousands of people without a place to stay.

Tenant advocacy groups, landlord associations and elected officials are condemning rent gouging after tens of thousands of people were displaced in deadly fires this month.

Letters from California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta advise more than 200 landlords and hotels that they've been accused of violating the state's price-gouging law.

Thousands of people looking places to live after the Palisades and Eaton fires are finding jacked up rental prices.

LOS ANGELES – California Attorney General Rob Bonta is leading efforts to open multiple predatory pricing investigations into fraud, assorted price-gouging scams and unsolicited low-ball offers on property during the current state of emergency in Los Angeles County.