A high-profile after-action report from the Los Angeles Fire Department on last January’s Palisades Fire went through several drafts that minimized the department’s failings both before and after the deadly blaze broke out, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.
The newspaper said it obtained copies of seven drafts prepared before the final report was issued on Oct. 8.
Among the changes, according to The Times:
— LAFD officials removed language saying that the decision not to fully staff and pre-deploy all available crews and engines ahead of the historically strong winds that were forecast for the day of the fire “did not align” with the department’s procedures during red flag days, and said instead that the number of engine companies put in place “went above and beyond the standard LAFD pre-deployment matrix.”
— A section on “failures” was renamed “primary challenges.”
— An item saying that personnel violated national guidelines on how to avoid firefighter deaths and injuries was scratched.
— A passage alleging that some crews waited more than an hour for an assignment on the day of the fire was removed.
— An early passage containing the following language was removed: “If the Department had adequately augmented all available resources as done in years past in preparation for the weather event, the Department would have been required to recall members for all available positions unfilled by voluntary overtime, which would have allowed for all remaining resources to be staffed and available for augmentation, pre-deployment, and pre-positioning.” The final report said the LAFD “balanced fiscal responsibility with proper preparation for predicted weather and fire behavior by following the LAFD predeployment matrix.”
The LAFD did not comment for The Times story, and did not immediately respond to a request for comment from City News Service on Saturday.
“Today’s reporting makes clear that accountability is optional when after-action reports are conducted in-house with oversight by political appointees,” Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez said in a statement issued Saturday.
“After-action reports are meant to provide a comprehensive and transparent assessment of key leadership decisions to ensure proper accountability. If these reports are purposefully watered down to cover up failures, it leaves Angelenos, firefighters, and city officials without a full understanding of what happened and what needs to change.
“After-action reports must be independent to ensure honest assessments in order to avoid repeating disastrous errors and to protect our communities in the future,” Rodriguez added.
Despite the revisions, the final report was still critical of the LAFD, finding that the agency’s response to the unfolding disaster was hampered by limited resources and leadership and communication challenges.
The fire erupted on Jan. 7, driven by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds. One of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles history, it burned 23,448 acres and destroyed much of the exclusive Pacific Palisades community, destroying about 6,800 structures and killing 12 people.