A “series of weaknesses” — including “outdated policies, inconsistent practices and communications vulnerabilities” — hindered Los Angeles County’s emergency-alert system in sending timely notifications to residents and efforts to evacuate them in Altadena and Pacific Palisades after fires that became massive broke out in both communities, according to a third-party report released on Thursday, Sept. 25.
The months-long review by Virginia-based McChrystal Group “did not identify a single point of failure in the county’s efforts to warn and evacuate residents in the face of multiple simultaneous fires in areas around the County,” the county’s Board of Supervisors said in a statement.
The board is scheduled to review the 133-page report at its Tuesday, Sept. 30, meeting.
To see the full report, click here.
“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.
Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath, in a statement, said “our communities deserve transparency — and this report is a critical step toward accountability.
“It shows where we fell short during the January wildfires and where we must do better,” she said. “This report is only as strong as the action that follows.”
“Survivors of the Eaton Fire deserve answers — and today’s report is an important step toward delivering them,” said Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger. “I called for this independent review to make sure we had a clear, fact-based look at how alerts, warnings, and evacuations were handled. This isn’t about pointing fingers. It’s about learning lessons, improving safety, and restoring public trust.
The McChrystal Group said the report was not intended to assess blame, but rather to provide findings and recommendations to improve the system. Some of those improvements were already underway, the board said.
The Palisades and Eaton fires each broke out during an uncommon windstorm that swept through Southern California on Jan. 7, quickly ballooning to char tens of thousands of acres in Pacific Palisades and Altadena while damaging or destroying around 17,000 structures, mostly homes.
In all, 31 people were killed in the two fires, the majority in Altadena.
But questions about the county’s evacuation-notification system quickly arose after it was discovered residents west of Lake Avenue in Altadena received alerts hours after residents east of Lake Avenue received them, which may have contributed to deaths.
Evacuation orders in the Pacific Palisades were also sent after some homes were already burning, the Associated Press reported.
The board voted for a third-party investigation into the county’s emergency alert system on Jan. 28 and brought on Virginia-based McChrystal Group to conduct the review.
By the time of its 90-day report in April, the McChrystal Group had conducted 33 group and individual interviews and had anticipated doing 18 more, it said. The group had also conducted six community listening sessions, three each in the Palisades and Altadena.
The Eaton fire was fully contained exactly one month after the fire broke out, but not before it blackened more than 14,000 acres and damaged or destroyed around 10,000 structures, mostly in Altadena. The cause is still under investigation, but lawsuits have been filed both by residents of Altadena and, more recently, the federal government, against Southern California Edison accusing the utility’s equipment in the Eaton Canyon area of sparking and igniting the blaze.
The fire initially spread south toward Sierra Madre, but a sudden change in the winds quickly pushed flames westward toward Altadena, presenting a much greater challenge for firefighters in much tougher topography.
The Palisades fire was fully contained on Jan. 31, more than three weeks after it broke out — rolling west, burning homes in the seaside community and scorching 23,000-plus acres.
Its cause remains under investigation as well, but investigators were at one point looking into a theory that a previous fire on New Year’s Day in the area of Skull Rock, a popular hiking area, may have reignited.
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