By Mary O’KEEFE

Last week an independent report was released regarding the alerts and evacuations that happened during the January wildfires. 

The After-Action Report was commissioned by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and completed by McChrystal Group. 

It didn’t find a specific point of failure, but instead several areas of concern including “County policies and protocols on evacuation warnings and orders are outdated, unclear and contradictory and do not clearly spell out roles and responsibilities for issuing directives,” according to the report. 

The report also found that staffing shortages and resource constraints created challenges including inadequate staffing levels for the needs of the LA County Office of  Emergency Management (OEM). The report also noted the “high number” of deputy vacancies in the Los Angeles County Sheriff Dept. with a shortage of patrol vehicles and a Computer Aided Dispatch system that is more than three decades old. 

There was also a finding that due to staffing shortages real time information was not dispersed to first responders on the scene of the fires. 

The strong winds were reported as having a lot to do with the type of response and other issues regarding the fires. 

“The most critical factor influencing the spread and size of the Eaton and Palisades Fires was the unprecedented strength of the Santa Ana winds,” according to the report.  

There have been several reports of people in the Eaton Fire area either not receiving evacuation orders or receiving them late. 

“OEM sent an advisory alert to the 12 evacuation zones (areas in Pasadena/Eaton Canyon, north of the 210 Freeway, south of Eaton Canyon, Altadena, east of Lake Avenue) at potential risk of the Eaton Fire at about 6:48 p.m. on Jan. 7 at the direction of the incident command,” according to the report.

That alert stated “Be Alert and Monitor.” Then at 7:26 p.m. the incident command directed OEM to send the first Eaton Fire evacuation orders for evacuation zones. Warnings and orders were sent out throughout the night and by 9 p.m. 11 more zones were added to the initial orders, followed at 10:30 p.m. by 16 more zones. 

“Although there were reports of fire west of Lake Avenue as early as 10:50 p.m. on Jan. 7, the data shows that none of the locations cited in those 9-1-1 calls are listed in the CalFire Damage Inspection reports. The first validated instance of a structure fire west of Lake Avenue was at 500 E. Las Flores Drive at 12:55 a.m. on Jan. 8,” according to the report. 

On Tuesday a motion was made LA County Board of Supervisor Chair Kathryn Barger and Supervisor Lindsay P. Hovath that was unanimously approved to implement key recommendations from the McChrystal Group’s independent After- Action Report. 

According to LA County Board of Supervisors, the report identified five critical areas that needed improvement: 

Policies, Protocols, and Authority – Updating policies and County Code to clarify decision-making responsibilities for issuing evacuation warnings and orders. Training and Planning – Standardizing and enhancing evacuation-specific training for all County departments and partner agencies.

Resource Management – Restructuring and increasing staffing for the Office of Emergency Management strengthen its capacity to manage large-scale emergencies.

Situational Awareness and Interoperability – Modernizing technology systems and integrating communications under a unified platform, called LA-RICS.

Community Engagement and Public Information – Launching robust and consistent public education campaigns to increase community preparedness.

“Additionally, the Board directed the Chief Executive Office to provide a 60-day feasibility and fiscal impact report on restructuring the County’s Office of Emergency Management to ensure it has the autonomy and authority to coordinate countywide emergency management effectively,” according to a statement.

The Eaton and Palisades Fires revealed critical gaps that must be closed to protect our residents in the face of worsening wildfires,” Supervisor Barger stated. “By implementing these recommendations, we are strengthening coordination, improving communication, and building a more resilient County. My focus is on ensuring that we act quickly and responsibly so that no community feels left behind in an emergency.”

The motion by Supervisors Barger and Horvath directs the Los Angeles County Fire Dept., Sheriff’s Dept. and the Office of Emergency Management to provide joint progress reports to the Board every 60 to 90 days until all recommendations from the After-Action Report are implemented. 

The Board of Supervisors also instructed staff to explore funding sources, including reallocating existing resources, to ensure timely execution of improvements.

The Eaton and Palisades Fires claimed 31 lives, destroyed more than 16,000 structures, and scorched nearly 37,000 acres, making them the most destructive in County history. The Board’s action represents the first in a series of steps to modernize Los Angeles County’s emergency response systems in the wake of these catastrophic events.

For more information on the After-Action Report go to https://lacounty.gov/aar/.