Sonoma County prosecutors have charged six landlords with price gouging in recent weeks for jacking up rental rates as lethal wildfires still burned throughout the county.
Court records show that four of the six landlords increased rental prices by more than 30 percent just days after fires erupted on the night of Oct. 8. It is a misdemeanor to increase prices for lodging, food, medical products and building supplies by more than 10 percent in California after an emergency is declared.