Following the release of a report on the January wildfires in Los Angeles County that identified lapses in public emergency notifications and evacuation procedures, Eaton Fire survivors in Altadena called for an investigation Tuesday by the state attorney general.
Members of Altadena for Accountability gathered at the site of a fire-destroyed home to demand that Bonta “compel testimony, examine withheld data and records and hold public agencies accountable for their failures before, during and after the fire.”
Last week the county released a report titled “After-action Review of Alert Notification Systems and Evacuation Policies for the Eaton and Palisades Fires” by the McChrystal Group. According to Altadena for Accountability, the report failed to answer questions on evacuation notifications, disparities in firefighter presence in the historically Black communities of West Altadena and breakdowns in protocol by the county sheriff’s and fire departments.
“Los Angeles County promised the report would provide a clear, fact based review of how alerts, warnings, and evacuations were handled,” Shawna Dawson Beer, an organizer with the Beautiful Altadena Community and a total loss fire survivor, said in statement. “Instead, the McChrystal Group’s After-Action Report is a carefully, conveniently worded PR spin, tip-toeing around County missteps, assigning responsibility nowhere in particular, and worse, pointing fingers at fire victims.”
Fire survivors said “inadequacies” in the McChrystal report could make future emergencies worse.
“McChrystal Group’s repeated blatant misuse of the term ‘perfect storm’ to describe the Eaton Fire is both dishonest and strategic,” Lauren Randolph, a total loss fire survivor, said in a statement. “The Eaton Fire was only so egregious and deadly because of how all emergency responses were mishandled.”
Dawson Beer added, “The report confirms what we already knew — there was no plan.”
In a statement to HeySoCal.com, LA County Board Chair Kathryn Barger, whose 3rd District includes Altadena, said she understands fire surviors’ frustration.
“Their call for more transparency and accountability is why I directed that an independent after-action report be created, in the first place,” Barger said.
“While I appreciate the insights the McChrystal After-Action Report provides, I was both disappointed and frustrated that several key entities declined to participate in interviews. That lack of cooperation limits our collective ability to fully understand what went wrong,” Barger continued.
“If additional scrutiny by the Attorney General’s office compels those stakeholders to engage, it could help us get a more comprehensive explanation of what happened. I welcome any effort that helps shine more light on what went wrong,” Barger said. “That is our best path forward–so we can take meaningful steps to improve our response and protect our communities in the future.”
“To protect their integrity, we’re unable to comment on, even to confirm or deny, potential or ongoing investigations,” according to the attorney general’s office, which referred to an independent investigation into the fires commissioned by Gov. Gavin Newsom: fsri.org/research/california-fires-independent-analysis.
On Tuesday, the LA County Board of Supervisors was expected to discuss the wildfire report, which identified outdated policies and weaknesses in the county’s emergency response system that hindered notifications and evacuation orders during the deadly Eaton and Palisades fires.
The board commissioned the after-action report by the McChrystal Group, a consulting firm led by retired four-star Gen. Stanley McChrystal. The firm’s task was to independently review county alerts and evacuation procedures to provide “a comprehensive picture of actions taken during the catastrophic January wildfires along with recommendations to help guide future Los Angeles County responses,” according to the report.
McChrystal investigators found “no single point of failure” by public alerts, warnings and notifications.
“Instead, a series of weaknesses, including outdated policies, inconsistent practices and communications vulnerabilities impacted the system’s effectiveness,” according to the report. “These systemic issues did not manifest uniformly across the two major fires. The effects of these weaknesses varied based on environmental conditions, community readiness and operational complexity caused by the variables of wind, power outages and fire behavior.”
The wildfires took the lives of 31 people and destroyed over 16,000 structures in Altadena and Pacific Palisades as well as areas of Los Angeles, Pasadena, Sierra Madre and Malibu.
The Board of Supervisors was expected to introduce motions aimed at starting to implement solutions in the after-action report that include expanding the county’s Office of Emergency Management, increased staffing and a possible overhaul of emergency operation protocols.
The report is available on the county’s website.
