MAGALIA, Calif. — Michael Krzanich and his wife, Lara, have lived in Magalia for about two years. In that time, they have become endeared to the community. That bond became stronger after the Camp Fire decimated any notion of normalcy for those impacted by it in Butte County.
Krzanich, 63, told ABC10 they lost everything. The house he and Lara were renting burned to the ground. He estimates the value of just the equipment he had, Krzanich was an electrical contractor in the Bay Area before they moved to Magalia, to be worth a quarter of a million dollars.
Through it all, both he and Lara still call Magalia home. In mid-April 2019, they decided they wanted to help other families impacted by the Camp Fire to try and get some of the things they lost back.
Krzanich and Lara reached out to the community on the Facebook group "Rebuilding hope: Campfire Recovery Resources," asking if anyone needed help searching for any precious mementos. Using metal detecting equipment, Krzanich estimated he and Lara have helped sift through the rubble of about 40 homes.
“We are doing as much as we can to give back to the community,” Krzanich said.
But, Krzanich said, they needed a special metal detector to improve the odds of finding things. The detector he said he was hoping to buy, a White’s Electronics V3i, normally costs more than $1,000. So, in mid-July, Krzanich said he was thrilled when he found someone on a White’s Electronics Facebook group selling a used V3i for $440.
Krzanich and the seller, a person with the Facebook profile “Romo Smith”, completed the transaction using Facebook payments. But Krzanich said, just a few hours after the payment was completed, “Romo Smith” disappeared. The profile was deleted.
Krzanich said he had made transactions through Facebook before. He said he did his due diligence on the seller before he sent the money, saved screengrabs of all their correspondence and did not spot any red flags.
He called his bank, The Bank of the West, and reported what had happened. Krzanich said the bank offered him a provisional refund, but about a month later they took the money back. In their letter to Krzanich, Bank of the West wrote, in part, “Based on the results of our investigation, we have concluded there was no error and that the transaction(s) in question was/were correct.” Krzanich said the bank told him that Facebook was the end merchant, not “Romo Smith”, and that he would have to go through Facebook to seek a refund.
According to Krzanich, after contacting Facebook he was told that “person-to-person” sales are final, and they cannot share a user’s IP address without a warrant from the police.
Krzanich said he finally reached out to the Butte County Sheriff’s Office to file a report. Still, he said the sheriff’s office told him it could take months to acquire a warrant, and it may not happen at all.
Despite it all, Krzanich said he and Lara are still reaching out to help Camp Fire victims. He also said he found another man online selling the White’s Electronics V3i, for which he said he traded one of his other metal detectors.
“We have to pull together as a community,” Krzanich said. “The good of the people came out from everywhere but there are always a few sharks under the water.”
Krzanich created a PayPal pool account to help recover the $440 that was stolen by the scammer. He also created a GoFundMe page to help in his own family’s recovery from the Camp Fire.
ABC10 reached out to the Butte County Sheriff's Office for comment. So far, we have not received a reply.
The Camp Fire is the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. Nearly 19,000 structures were destroyed — about 14,000 of which were homes. It burned more than 153,000 acres of land, killing 85 people and injuring 17 others, including five firefighters.
