Botched Altadena evacuations, dysfunction in Pacific Palisades: Long-awaited fire investigation identifies missteps

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Set us as preferred In the aftermath of the Eaton and Palisades fires, which killed 31 people and destroyed more than 16,000 structures, survivors have been frustrated by a series of official investigations that have glossed over or downplayed failures on the part of Los Angeles city and county agencies.Now, a long-awaited independent investigation commissioned by Gov.

Gavin Newsom provides the most frank and in-depth review of the Jan.7, 2025 catastrophes, and points out multiple shortcomings in governmental planning and response.

The findings released Friday by the UL Research Institutes’ Fire Safety Research Institute confirm key reporting by The Times, particularly about how a historically black neighborhood where the majority of fire victims died received delayed evacuation alerts, and how the Los Angeles Fire Department neglected signs that a Jan.1 fire in Pacific Palisades — which later erupted into the Palisades fire — was still smoldering after the department initially contained it.

California With California’s coast getting pounded by strong waves amid a strengthening El Niño, residents and city leaders are turning to big rocks and seawalls to protect homes and keep railroads from falling into the sea.The 724-page report describes a deluge of chaos and poor communication that made evacuations, rescues and firefighting more challenging amid conditions that were already exceptionally dangerous and volatile.In the Eaton fire, reports of an ember-storm seen by paramedics in west Altadena never reached incident commanders, the assessment found.

Meanwhile, the L.A.County Fire Department — the agency at the helm of the incident — failed to formally organize evacuation operations within the command.

Once reports of fire in west Altadena finally reached commanders, it took over an hour to order evacuations.I...