Australia bushfire crisis: 180 people face legal action for fire-related offenses in NSW

A firefighter hosing down trees and flying embers in an effort to secure nearby houses from bushfires near the town of Nowra in the Australian state of New South Wales. Photo: Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images

As firefighters battle wildfires across Australia, authorities in New South Wales say police have arrested dozens of people for offenses related to fires, including 24 for deliberately lighting fires and three for looting fire-ravaged communities.

The big picture: NSW police said in a statement Monday officers have taken legal action against 183 people for fire-related offenses since Nov. 8, including for "allegedly discarding a lighted cigarette or match on land."

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The community and the government has a right to be outraged. We are not living in South Central L.A., we don't live in Syria, we don't do this to each other. This is the South Coast of New South Wales."

NSW Minister for Police and Emergency Services David Elliot on the looting suspects

NSW Police and Emergency Services Minister David Elliot told reporters after three men were charged with looting near Nowra Tuesday afternoon local time that anyone who wants to loot the home of a family that's "potentially lost everything" is "the lowest of the low" and should face the full force of the law.

Go deeper: In photos: Deadly wildfires rage across Australia