Report identifies flaws in fire evacuations

God forbid, we have another emergency like this,” said L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose district includes Altadena, at a news conference about the report’s release.

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MOST of west Altadena did not receive any evacuation alerts until 3:30 a.m. on Jan. 8, hours after other areas had received them.

(BRIAN VAN DER BRUG Los Angeles Times)

Although areas east of Lake Avenue got evacuation orders just after 7 p.m. on Jan. 7, most of west Altadena did not receive any evacuation alerts until 3:30 a.m. the following day. Some zones didn’t receive alerts until almost 6 a.m., hours after people began reporting fire in the area to 911.

Many residents have told The Times they never got an evacuation alert and decided to flee after waking up to homes filled with smoke. Some who left after they got the evacuation order said they only narrowly escaped.

Officials told The Times that the responsibility to issue evacuation orders was split among three agencies: the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the county Fire Department and the county Office of Emergency Management. But the report found there were no clear protocols indicating which agency, exactly, was ultimately responsible for issuing evacuation orders.

Going forward, the report recommends a simplified structure for evacuations: the Fire Department picks which zones to evacuate, the Sheriff's Department makes sure the evacuations get done, and the Office of Emergency Management sends alerts.

“No report or review or article will accurately capture or reflect the absolute horror and tragedy that occurred and unfolded that night,” county Fire Chief Anthony Marrone told reporters Thursday.

The report said that between 1 and 3 a.m. on Jan. 8, the county fire officials believed all areas “directly impacted by or at risk from the Eaton Fire had already received an evacuation warning or order.”

But that was not the case.