Fire victims say a parks official blocked mop-up

State 'put plants over people' after Jan. 1 blaze in Palisades, lawyers allege.

- JENNY JARVIE AND ALENE TCHEKMEDYIAN

THE LACHMAN fire began Jan. 1 and smoldered for days, reigniting into the Palisades fire, above, which destroyed thousands of homes.

WALLY SKALIJ Los Angeles Times

Lawyers representing victims of the Palisades fire are seeking to depose Los Angeles firefighters to shed light on allegations that a California State Parks official restricted how the Los Angeles Fire Department handled an earlier blaze that reignited into the deadly firestorm that destroyed thousands of homes.

The Fire Department's handling of the Jan. 1 Lachman fire has come under increasing scrutiny after a federal investigation concluded firefighters failed to put the small brush fire out and it came roaring back to life on Jan. 7, killing 12 people and destroying more than 6,800 structures.

Meanwhile, attorneys working on behalf of Palisades residents have been trying to focus attention on California State Parks' role in the Palisades fire. In a complaint filed last month, they allege the state agency did not do enough to monitor the Lachman burn scar in Topanga State Park and ensure the area was safe after firefighters said the fire was contained.

Now, the plaintiffs' lawyers are alleging a state parks official who arrived at the scene of the fire on Jan. 1 "directly interfered with LAFD's mop up operations."

Alexander "Trey" Robertson, one of the attorneys who filed the complaint against the state, told The Times that a fire official up on the Lachman burn scar Jan. 1 alleged that a California State Parks representative told them "they couldn't bring a bulldozer in to cut a line around the fire and they could not do mop-up with their hand tools, dig up around any native plant species.

"They basically put plants over people and wouldn't let the firefighters attempt to fully mop up this fire."