Southern California fire survivors want more time to review major post-fire report

Several survivors of the Eaton fire complained that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors were giving short-shrift to a new after-fire report ordered by Gov. Gavin Newsom that heavily criticized the fire response, including that of county departments.

At the Oct. 6 Board of Supervisors meeting, survivors strongly objected during public comment on items not held for public review — because the Board did not tag the report for discussion — regarding a motion later approved by the Board that only gave the county seven days to review the 724-page report released Oct. 2 from the UL Research Institutes’ Fire Safety Research Institute.

“A seven-day review is not enough for an issue of this magnitude,” said Sofia Vidal, who lived 30 years in Altadena until she described her house burning down “without any assistance from any first responders.” She said she attempted to fight off flames herself with a garden hose until 6 a.m., Jan. 8, 2025, when the fire consumed the structure.

Likewise, Silvie Andrews, a member of Altadena for Accountability, said the report of more than 700 pages that gives more than 200 recommendations for improvement needs more time for a proper county review.

Vidal said the board should extend the time to 60 days, while Andrews and Vidal both said those from Altadena who lost their homes need to be interviewed and included in the county response to the report.

Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose district includes Altadena, took a moment after the public comment period to address some of the fire survivor’s concerns.

“I am happy to strike the seven days and make it 30 days and ask for extensions based on the need. We all support the need to get the facts and get the answers,” she said in a rare response to public commenters in a board meeting.

But Barger could have amended the motion to extend the review time. She did not. Instead, she offered to add more time if the county departments deem it necessary at a later date.

The motion calls for the County Counsel to lead the review “in coordination” with LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone, and the Office of Emergency Management, the LA County Sheriff Robert Luna, the Chief Executive Office and Public Works.

The ULRI report, entitled, “Southern California Fires Incident Analysis Report,” presented 175 findings and 266 recommendations for improvements aimed at strengthening fire preparedness and response.

Overall, the newest ULRI report, the second from the group, concluded both deadly January 2025 wildfires — the Eaton and Palisades fires — exceeded the assumptions of the state’s preparedness and response systems. It also said the longer, hotter climate-change induced wildfires hitting the state and the region demand an updated response and that local fire and emergency practices have not evolved at the same pace as the new wildfire threat facing residents.

County Counsel, with input from these other departments, will show where the ULRI recommendations overlap with those from after-fire reports commissioned by the county, known as the McChrystal Group’s After-Action Reports and the Citygate Associates’ investigation. Or, show new recommendations from the ULRI report that need to be implemented, both for near-term and long-term improvements. Finally, the motion says the county’s seven-day review must rule out duplicating efforts, especially those recommendations already being put into practice by L.A. County.

In a press release, Third District Supervisor Lindsey Horvath hoped the state’s role in emergency preparedness and response should be strengthened.

“And we must look across these findings to identify what worked, where gaps remain, and what more must be done,” she said.

Eaton fire survivors were not in agreement on the County Council leading the county’s review, in cooperation with Fire Chief Marrone.

Some implied that the county agencies have an inherent conflict of interest. They didn’t want to see the independent governor-ordered report watered down.

“What is already apparent is that the Los Angeles County Fire Department led by Chief Anthony Marrone failed Altadena and failed to have any advance planning in place for an emergency,” said Marialyce Pedersen, who is an Eaton fire survivor who lost her home.

Andrews pointed to page 216 of the ULRI report, which talked of difficulties with the Los Angeles County Incident Command personnel getting accurate information on the Eaton fire as it progressed into early Jan. 8. It had changed course, moving west and south and that wiped out thousands of homes in predominantly Black west Altadena.

“It says the incident command was unaware the fire progressed through Altadena west of Lake Avenue until the daylight hours of Jan. 8,” said Andrews. The report adds that by that time, “most of the structures in west Altadena had already been impacted by the fire.”

Pedersen called for the Board of Supervisors to fire Marrone, or failing that, he should step down. She also called for a citizen oversight board to check on the practices and fire responses of the LAC Fire Department. This may be similar to the Civilian Oversight Commission created to oversee conduct within the LAC Sheriff’s Department, which has looked into excessive force and deputy gangs.

“We need a citizen board to oversee this fire department that wastes money and doesn’t know how to fight a fire,” she said.

An email sent to the LAC Fire Department for comment was not answered by deadline on Friday.

The ULRI report said the confusion over the turn of the fire into West Altadena was related to a lack of resources, in part because of other fires, such as the Hurst fire in Sylmar that broke out around the same time.

The twin devastating fires in January 2025 together burned more than 38,000 acres, destroyed over 16,000 structures and killed 31 people. The Eaton fire destroyed 6,000 homes, wiping out large portions of Altadena, an unincorporated community north of Pasadena and situated along the foothills of the Angeles National Forest.

In February, Rob Bonta, California attorney general, launched an investigation into possible discrimination against the Black community in west Altadena regarding the fire response to the Eaton fire. The investigation centers around a lack of fire trucks in west Altadena, as compared to a large response to mostly White east Altadena.

Bonta is also looking at evacuation notices coming as much as eight hours late, as compared to notices sent to east Altadena residents.

“There was, indisputably, a delayed emergency notification and evacuation of west Altadena,” Rob Bonta told the press in February.

The ULRI report pointed out various examples of inadequate or confusing communication that caused a tangled mess of evacuation efforts.

Kara Vallow, whose home was razed by the Eaton fire, told the Board to take a close look at problems within their own departments. “The report confirmed and our research shows L.A. County Fire, L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, and the county’s Office of Emergency Management’s policies and procedures did not support evacuation protocols.”