Mayor Karen Bass said Friday newly released deposition testimony suggesting fire department officials were aware that a New Year’s Day blaze near Pacific Palisades was still smoldering when crews pulled out of the area was “alarming” and would be examined in an independent investigation.
The Lachman Fire, which authorities say was intentionally set early on New Year’s Day 2025, was re-ignited by fierce Santa Ana winds on Jan. 7, 2025, sparking the Palisades Fire that destroyed more than 3,000 structures and killed 12 people.
In newly released videotaped deposition testimony given in connection with lawsuits filed by people who lost their homes in the fire, a Los Angeles firefighter said he notified other firefighters and a captain that the Lachman fire was still actively smoldering while crews were picking up hose lines and vacating the area.
Firefighter Scott Pike, who said he had been sent to the scene to help pick up hoses on Jan. 2, 2025, testified in the deposition that he saw multiple hot spots, including one that was so hot he wouldn’t even touch it with his gloved hand.
“So I just kicked it with my boot to kind of expose it, and there was, like red hot, like, coals … that was still smoldering,” Pike testified.
He said he reported the hot spots to other firefighters, but “felt like I kind of got blown off a little bit.”
Pike said he then notified a captain, who also took no action. He said the firefighters on scene appeared anxious to pick up the hose lines and leave the area.
“It kind of sits heavy with me that nobody listened to me,” Pike testified.
LAFD officials have insisted that the Lachman Fire had been fully extinguished and crews were unaware that it was still smoldering underground, allowing it to be re-ignited by Santa Ana winds on Jan. 7, 2025.
Multiple other firefighters who were interviewed in depositions testified that they believed the Lachman Fire was fully extinguished when the hose lines were removed.
Bass, speaking to CBS LA Friday, said she was aware of the deposition testimony.
“Well I definitely thought it was very alarming, but it really just reinforced my desire, as well as the chief’s, to get the independent investigation,” Bass said. “And we know that it’s underway, and that is the Fire (Safety) Research Institute, that’s the independent investigator that Gov. (Gavin) Newsom had employed to look at the fire overall. But remember they were focusing on January 7th. But the chief ordered them to go back and include the Lachman Fire, so I will look forward to their independent analysis.”
The Los Angeles Times reported late last year that some firefighters sent text messages following the Lachman Fire that the blaze was still smoldering when crews were packing up hose lines, with one saying it was a “bad idea” to be leaving the area due to the possibility of re-ignition.