LA County response to deadly fires slowed by lack of resources, outdated alert process, report says
Sep 25, 2025, 9:54 AM
FILE - Megan Mantia, left, and her boyfriend Thomas, return to Mantia's fire-damaged home after the Eaton Fire swept through, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — An outside review of Los Angeles County’s response to January’s deadly wildfires found a lack of resources and outdated policies for sending emergency alerts led to delays in warning residents about the need to evacuate as flames began consuming neighborhoods in Altadena and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 Los Angeles County.
The report released Thursday says a series of weaknesses, including “outdated policies, inconsistent practices and communications vulnerabilities,” hampered the effectiveness of the county’s response.
The Associated Press found some residents didn’t receive emergency alerts until well after homes went up in flames.
The report cited 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 real-time information due to unreliable cellular connectivity, inconsistent field reporting methods, and the use of various unconnected 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.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to review the 133-page report when it meets next Tuesday.
The causes of the two fires are still under investigation.
After-action reports and investigations revealed issues with alert systems in other California blazes: in 2018 Camp Fire, which killed 85 people in Paradise; the 1,000 homes outside Denver; and in Hawaii’s killed 102.
