"Poor communications, understaffing, a lack of adequate planning and chaotic conditions contributed to the failure to issue timely evacuation orders to parts of Altadena as the deadly Eaton Fire raced through the community, according to a long-awaited report released Thursday. The report did not assign blame to individuals for the botched alerts but found there was no clear process for who should issue evacuation orders and called for significant reforms. Nineteen people died in the fire, all but one of whom was found in west Altadena, an area that did not get evacuation alerts for hours after the fire broke out."
"The 132-page report released Thursday seemed to downplay how early the fire threatened west Altadena -- despite 911 calls that reported flames and smoke in the area --and only once mentioned the 19 people who died in the fire. Instead, it instead focused on the fire's "perfect storm," poor preparation and the fact that the satellite-outlined "fire front" hadn't entered west Altadena until 5 a.m. That was nearly two hours after evacuation alerts were first issued, though several spot fires were confirmed in the area earlier in the night."
Poor communications, understaffing, inadequate planning and chaotic conditions delayed evacuation alerts in parts of Altadena as the Eaton Fire raced through the community. Evacuation responsibility was split among multiple agencies without a clear process for who should issue evacuation orders. Areas east of Lake received evacuation orders shortly after 7 p.m. on Jan. 7, while most of west Altadena did not receive alerts until around 3:30 a.m., with some zones waiting until nearly 6 a.m. Satellite data showed the main fire front reached west Altadena around 5 a.m., though 911 calls and confirmed spot fires indicated earlier threats. Nineteen people died, all but one in west Altadena, and significant reforms were identified without assigning individual blame.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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