Lives Lost as L.A. County Struggles with Fire Response Delays, Aging Alert System

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An outside review of Los Angeles County’s response to January’s deadly wildfires found a lack of resources and outdated policies for sending emergency alerts led to delays in warning residents about the need to evacuate as flames began consuming neighborhoods in Altadena and Pacific Palisades.

The Independent After-Action Report produced by the consulting firm McChrystal Group was commissioned by county supervisors just weeks after the Eaton and Palisades fires killed more than 30 people and destroyed thousands of homes in highly dense areas of LA County.

The report released Thursday says a series of weaknesses, including “outdated policies, inconsistent practices and communications vulnerabilities,” hampered the county’s response.

Interviews with survivors and an Associated Press analysis of available data found evacuation orders for some neighborhoods of Altadena where the Eaton Fire swept through came long after houses burned down. AP reporting also showed similar delays for the Palisades Fire, although the Los Angeles Police Department initially handled evacuation management. The report sheds more light on flaws in the county alert system.

Staffing shortages

The report cites critical staffing shortages including a high number of sheriff’s deputy vacancies and an under-resourced Office of Emergency Management. In addition, first responders and incident commanders were unable to consistently share information due to unreliable cellular connectivity, inconsistent field reporting methods, and the use of various unconnected communication platforms.

“While frontline responders acted decisively and, in many cases, heroically, in the face of extraordinary conditions, the events underscored the need for clearer policies, stronger training, integrated tools, and improved public communication,” the report says.

It is not intended to investigate or assess blame, county officials said in a news release.

“This isn’t about pointing fingers. It’s about learning lessons, improving safety, and restoring public trust,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose district includes Altadena.

The Office of Emergency Management began putting together its staffing plan for predicted heavy winds Jan. 3, four days before the Palisades and Eaton fires ignited. But an experienced staffer had been sent out of town for a training event. That meant several less-knowledgeable staffers were in key positions, according to the report.

Alerting the public

During the January inferno, according to the report, this process took between 20 and 30 minutes. That’s an improvement over the old system that took between 30 and 60 minutes for the public to receive notice of an evacuation, the report said.

Still many of the county’s methods to alert the public require opting-in.

Some of the evacuation alerts required residents to click a separate link to get complete information, hindering messaging. The communication system used for alerts did not provide complete information about the fire’s progression. Power outages and cell tower issues further hindered evacuation notices and the fire was moving too fast to keep up, the report found.

Prior to the fire, the county sent out a handful of warnings about the incoming Santa Ana wind event and amplified National Weather Service messaging on social media and in news releases, but there was unofficial, stand-alone preparedness messaging provided by the county.