Los Angeles County supervisors are investigating the emergency alert system after residents in some areas of the Eaton Fire were not alerted until hours after the fire started.
Seventeen deaths were reported at the Eaton Fire west of Lake Avenue, but the area did not receive any electronic alerts until nine hours after the deadly blaze broke out. An investigation is underway as to why this happened.
A map from the Public Broadcasting System shows that the first warning was issued east of Altadena at 6:48 p.m. on January 7, just 30 minutes after the Eaton fire broke out.
According to the map, areas west of Altadena were under alert at 3:25 a.m., but no evacuation orders were issued for nearby areas during that time.
The 17 deaths associated with the Eaton Fire occurred west of Altadena, where evacuation orders were not issued until midnight on January 8th. Firefighters said the fire started in the foothills during a rainstorm in Santa Ana. Said to be one of the worst they’ve ever seen.
“We know that the west side, the older part of Altadena, is much more concentrated and has more homes. We need to figure out what happened, but we know that the fire was moving faster. We get it,” L.A. County Supervisor Katherine Berger said. after a press conference Wednesday morning. “I spoke to the firefighters and they said they saw pieces of wood literally go up in flames and fly for miles. This was something none of us had ever seen before.”
Berger said the county CEO is creating a database for families that will show whether a resident is bedridden or unable to walk.
“I don’t know if a notice would have changed the outcome in that situation,” Berger said. “And as heartbreaking as it is, I’m not going to jump to any conclusions in advance, especially when I talked to the deputies and firefighters on the scene that night. I’m not going to jump to any conclusions beforehand about not evacuating when you know you should.” Some people chose.”
Authorities have not said how the fire started.
Berger said at a news conference that he met with Altadena residents and city council members Tuesday night to discuss immediate actions. She introduced a motion to have a consultant on board to review evacuation policies and emergency warning notification systems for all major disasters. The county also plans to prepare an after-action report.
“Right now, the victims of this disaster deserve our transparency and accountability,” Berger said.
Additionally, an evacuation alert was mistakenly sent to all of Los Angeles County, causing confusion among Southern California residents.
Several businesses in Altadena were destroyed in the Eaton Fire, and those that survived are struggling. Alex Rozier reports on NBC4 News on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 at 5 p.m.
A “correction” alert was sent out a few minutes later, explaining that the previous alert was specific to the fire in the West Hills area, rather than for all of Los Angeles County.
Kevin McGowan, director of the Los Angeles County Emergency Management Agency, apologized and explained what went wrong in an interview with NBC4.
McGowan said the correct area for the evacuation alert was communicated through the proper channels, but a system error caused the notification to be sent countywide.
“We issued these notices through our system. The correct zones were initiated, but there was an error in our system and we sent out an emergency alert countywide,” McGowan said.
McGowan’s office quickly realized the mistake and sent another message as soon as possible clarifying that the evacuation warning was only for residents near the Kenneth Fire, he said.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Berger also said she received an evacuation order days after the fire, as repopulation efforts were underway.
Berger said the board is committed to accountability and transparency and expects the results of the review within 90 days.
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