https://www.instagram.com/p/BkEZ-dFAMAq/?taken-by=cole.labrant
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bji3SAyg561/?taken-by=sav.labrant
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgtyBoWgvA1/?taken-by=sav.labrant
https://www.instagram.com/p/Be4R-VEgN90/?taken-by=sav.labrant
https://www.instagram.com/p/BV8ivJjASBK/?taken-by=sav.labrant
YouTubers Cole and Sav LaBrant are being accused of faking their recent vlog about being evacuated during a California wildfire.
The duo and their daughter, Everleigh Rose, have a combination of 10.6 million Instagram followers and over 6.7 million YouTube subscribers.
On August 13 the couple posted a video to their channel titled “WE LEFT OUR HOUSE BECAUSE OF FIRES IN CALIFORNIA.” The video starts with Cole saying that the biggest wildfire in California history is happening right now.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkysISlgBA4/?taken-by=sav.labrant
Then after their intro, Cole is in his car and says that Savannah texted him saying that there is a “huge fire” right by their house. He is driving back to the house to take stuff and evacuate. Then the video cuts to news clips of the Holy fire. The Los Angeles Times reported on August 21 that the fire was 91% contained.
While driving Cole records the smoke from the wildfire that is visible from the highway. He gets back to their house and shows that the smoke is visible to their home. Then the video shows him and Sav outside the front of their house. The couple claims the fire is four miles from their home and they were told the evacuate.
They show the necessities that they’ve packed up and picked up their daughter. They tell her they’re evacuating and leaving the fire behind for safety. Then the vlog turns into a San Francisco travel blog.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjxD9komfZ4
Neighbors of the LaBrant couple are scrutinizing them and saying they were never told to evacuate.
According to BuzzFeed, The LaBrants live in Ladera Ranch, California. They reported that Ladera Ranch was not one of the communities that were made to evacuate during the fire. According to The National Wildfire Coordinating Group, the areas that had to be evacuated on August 12 and 13 were Glen Eden, the Lake Elsinore Riverside community, El Cariso, Blue Jay and Rancho Capistrano. Trinity was under voluntary evacuation.
BuzzFeed provided a map of the area that was forced to evacuate and where the LaBrants live and they aren’t close to each other. LaBrants neighbors told Fox 11 that they weren’t under evacuation.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcldzoFgVr3/?taken-by=sav.labrant
Fox 11 reported that the neighbors feel like the couple was exploiting the wildfire for internet clicks.
One neighbor called the couple out for their original thumbnail for the video. The thumbnail, which has since been switched, was a photo of the family of three photoshopped over a background of a raging fire.
“I have friends who were evacuated and [it’s] a very scary situation,” the anonymous neighbor told Fox 11. “So kind of making light of that, I don’t think is very proper.”
People have been calling out the couple on social media since. While others are defending them saying the couple was concerned for Sav’s healthy considering she’s pregnant.
https://twitter.com/sammymisky/status/1030529562315112448
https://twitter.com/sweetbrnes/status/1030323085730230272
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bik91C2A1gd/?taken-by=sav.labrant
It’s unsure when the LaBrant’s filmed their vlog.
