Neighbors said the couple exaggerated their plight in a video posted to their famous channel.
A pair of famous YouTubers are facing criticism after claiming they were forced to evacuate their California home due to the blazes raging across the state.
Cole and Savannah, aka "Sav," LaBrant uploaded a video, titled “WE LEFT OUR HOUSE BECAUSE OF FIRES IN CALIFORNIA,” to their popular YouTube channel, which has 6.7 million followers, on Aug. 13 that showed smoke clouds from the Holy Fire and said the fire looked like it was around four miles away from their home.
“And we just got this evacuation thing….” Cole says in the video, which has been viewed more than 4 million times.
The video documents the family driving to San Francisco and sightseeing.
Neighbors, however, said the area they live in, Ladera Ranch, was not evacuated. They accused the YouTubers off trying to profit off an unfortunate situation, Fox 11 reported.
Ladera Ranch is not listed as a community evacuated due to the Holy Fire, which has burned more than 25,000 acres, but is now 91 percent contained. Officials expect it to be fully contained by Sept. 1.
“I just think it’s really sad they would exploit a situation that’s as serious as a fire that so many people were evacuated just so they could get more likes or more hits on their channel,” one neighbor told the station.
Another neighbor complained about a thumbnail image the couple had originally used for the video, which depicts the fire in the background and the family with scared faces in front of the flames.
The photo has since been switched out.
“I have friends who were evacuated and [it’s] a very scary situation,” the resident, who was not named, continued. “So kind of making light of that, I don’t think is very proper.”
Some, however, have defended the couple, saying they packed up because Sav is pregnant, according to BuzzFeed News.
The LaBrants did not immediately respond to InsideEdition.com's request for comment.
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