LA County response to deadly fires slowed by lack of resources, outdated alert process, report says

LOS ANGELES - An outside review of Los Angeles County’s response to January's deadly wildfires found that a lack of resources and outdated policies led to delayed emergency alerts. 

The report, commissioned by county supervisors, cited critical staffing shortages and an under-resourced Office of Emergency Management as key weaknesses. 

What we know:

The independent review, conducted by the consulting firm McChrystal Group, was released on Thursday. 

It found that the county's emergency response was hampered by "outdated policies, inconsistent practices, and communications vulnerabilities." 

The report also noted critical staffing shortages, including a high number of sheriff's deputy vacancies, and that the Office of Emergency Management was under-resourced. 

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First responders and incident commanders had difficulty sharing real-time information due to unreliable cellular connectivity and the use of unconnected communication platforms.

What they're saying:

"This isn’t about pointing fingers. It’s about learning lessons, improving safety, and restoring public trust," said Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose district includes Altadena. 

"Survivors of the Eaton Fire deserve answers — and today’s report is an important step toward delivering them." 

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The report itself stated that while frontline responders acted heroically, the events "underscored the need for clearer policies, stronger training, integrated tools, and improved public communication."

Local perspective:

The review found that the process for public alerts during the January fires was slow, taking between 20 and 30 minutes for a notification to go out.

The report also noted that many of the county's alert systems, such as Alert Los Angeles County, Genasys PROTECT, and WatchDuty, require residents to opt-in to receive notifications.

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The communication system also failed to provide complete information about the fire's progression, like the names and locations of evacuation zones. 

The report further highlighted a policy gap in who is responsible for providing stand-alone preparedness messaging to residents for extreme weather risks.

What's next:

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to review the 133-page report at its next meeting. 

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The causes of the Eaton and Palisades fires are still under investigation.