LAFD records don't match account

Logs show no deep mop-up of Lachman smolder fire, as the department had said.

- BY ALENE TCHEKMEDYIAN AND PAUL PRINGLE

EX-INTERIM Chief Ronnie Villanueva said the burn area was "cold-trailed" twice, contradicting the log.

(DREW A. KELLEY MediaNews Group via Getty Images)

In the weeks since federal investigators announced that the devastating Palisades fire was caused by a re-ignition of a smaller blaze, top Los Angeles Fire Department officials have insisted that they did everything they could to put out the earlier fire.

But The Times has obtained records that call into question the agency’s statements about how thoroughly firefighters mopped up the Jan. 1 Lachman fire in the days before it reignited.

In an interview last month, then-Interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva said that firefighters returned to the burn area on Jan. 3 — due to a report of smoke — and “cold-trailed” an additional time, meaning they used their hands to feel for heat and dug out hot spots.

“We went back over there again. We dug it all out again. We put ladders on it. We did everything that we could do — cold-trail again,” Villanueva told The Times on Oct. 8. “We did all of that.”

A dispatch log obtained by The Times, however, shows that firefighters arrived at the scene that day and quickly reported seeing no smoke. They canceled the dispatch for another engine that was on the way, clearing the call within 34 minutes.

The log does not mention cold-trailing. It’s unclear if crews took any other actions during the call, because the LAFD has not answered questions about it.

The Times has made multiple requests for comment to LAFD spokesperson Capt. Erik Scott by email, text and in person, but the agency has refused to explain the discrepancy. Villanueva also did not respond to an emailed request for comment and an interview request.