Why the Eaton fire report didn't name names

After reviewing the afteraction report, she said she was pleased with its findings, calling it an "in depth" report that "delivered a holistic picture of what worked and what didn't.

- Times staff writers Terry Castleman and Richard Winton contributed to this report.

A RESIDENT defends his Altadena home during the deadly Eaton fire, which saw botched evacuation orders.

(ROBERT GAUTHIER Los Angeles Times)

She acknowledged that many residents were frustrated that the report didn't squarely apply blame for the late evacuation orders.

"There is no one smoking gun, and I know that's problematic for people to understand," Barger said at a news conference Thursday. "There's no question that there were failures, but it was not one specific individual or one specific department that can have an, 'Off with your head.' At the end of the day ... it truly was the perfect storm."

But some experts and many Altadena residents worry that the report's lack of specificity helps officials dodge accountability and makes it more difficult to ensure that such a catastrophic failure doesn't happen again.

"Somebody needs to take responsibility, and nobody does that because they want to protect their authorities," said Art Botterell, who retired in 2018 from the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services as senior emergency services coordinator. "Responsibility just gets you hurt. So there's a tendency to avoid that."

Shawna Dawson Beer, who lost her home in northwest Altadena, said the report repeatedly shielded county officials, particularly fire and sheriff's officials, from any real accountability.

"We want to know WHO was responsible," Beers wrote in a social media post on her Beautiful Altadena page. "Name the officials. Identify the decision-makers. ... This isn't about blame, it's about responsibility."