Civil rights probe of Eaton fire response

State will examine if bias played a part in the county's delays in Altadena evacuation.

- GRACE TOOHEY

EMPTY LOTS REMAIN and homes are under construction in historically Black west Altadena more than a year after the Eaton fire.

More than a year after the devastating Eaton fire — and following months of mounting pressure from survivors — California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta has opened a civil rights investigation into fire preparations and response, looking particularly at potential disparities in historically Black west Altadena.

“My office will be investigating whether there was race, age, or disability discrimination in the emergency response in west Altadena,” Bonta said Thursday. “Specifically, we'll be looking at whether the systems and structures at play contributed to a delay in the county’s evacuation notice.”

The investigation comes after a series of Times investigations found that west Altadena, a historically Black community, received late evacuation alerts and limited firefighting resources as the fire raged out of control — particularly when compared with the more affluent eastern half of the unincorporated town.

Fire damage was particularly widespread in west Altadena, and almost all of the fire’s 19 deaths occurred there — among them a 54-year-old woman whose family claimed she died because of the delayed evacuation alerts.

Black Altadena residents disproportionately experienced damage from the conflagration, researchers have found.

Those issues have stirred growing concern and anger in west Altadena, where residents — most of whom are still displaced — have continued to demand answers about the failed evacuation alerts and disparate resources, With little success. Thursday's announcement, however, brought a renewed sense of hope for accountability and oversight, for Altadena as well as other disadvantaged communities that may soon face climate-related emergencies.