The fire department faced the crisis far beyond the worst calculation, as the flame exploded from the hillside of the dry hill of Euton Canyon on January 7.
In just a few hours, the Hurricane Force wind stimulated three major mountain fire in the Los Angeles area like a hell -like bellows, and the dangerous flight conditions were grounded to a fire mixed OTIC. It hinders the abilities of the emergency commander who tracks the movement. On Altadena’s road, thick black smoke restricted the view of several regions in some regions, and the winds that were burning on the firefighters of the firefighter shake the remaining fire.
In this difficult environment, an emergency staff group has established a mobile command center to adjust the fight against Eaton Fire and help harm the residents. For three hours, the center moved twice. The officials struggled to catch up with the faster and irregular fire faster than what they saw earlier.
“Is it a mixed OTIC? Absolutely,” he said, a spokesman of the US Forest Bureau, and reminds me of seeing a response vehicle that the tree branches protruding from the crushed windshield. John Miller said.
The handling of fire has been monitored because residents and others are wondering why large swings west of North Lake Avenue took almost nine hours to receive an electronic evacuation order. To that point, several fires have been reported in the area, and many residents have said they saw them as they were flames quickly approaching their house. Of the 17 dead, everyone lived west of the North Lake Avenue.
The delay notice is subject to independent surveys by Los Angeles County.
The behavior and movement of the mobile command center provide windows for confusion that faced while fighting Eaton’s fire. County resources were already growing thinner due to large -scale palace fires, and were further taxed later when another fire broke out near Silmer.
“This was a phenomenon that I had never seen,” said Carlos Herrera, a spokesman at the LA County Fire Station.
When Eaton’s fire erupted under the Edison transmission tower in Southern California immediately after 6:00 pm, the commander of the case immediately established a command post in a nearby equestrian center, but before 7 pm I moved to the park. The era.
However, within an hour, firefighters noticed that they needed to relocate again, and from Fern’s Worth Park (ultimately burned by a fire), firefighting Chief Ansony Malone and Angelus in Los Angeles County at 9:00 pm. I noticed that I moved to the rose bowl just before the chief of the forest fire department. Robert Garcia has determined that their incident command has grown to include the Federal Case Management Team, so it needs additional space.
LA County Genasis protects the evacuation zone map in the Altadena area at midnight of the first night of the Eaton Fire.
(Los Angeles Security Office)
Evacuation alerts frequently disappeared during these early hours of fire. At 6:48 pm, I received the first “noticed” alert in the neighborhood of Altadena, but others from 9:00 pm to 9 pm to 1:00 pm from 7 pm to 1 pm. Until time, he issued evacuation warnings and orders from Los Angeles County Office. Emergency management or OEM goes out several times per hour, covers the mainly non -burning areas.
“In most cases, this is quite smooth except for the facts [that this night] We were making the wind of 100 miles per hour intensely, “said Helella. “The fire was initially pushed out from the west side. [of Altadena]After that, I switched the direction. … we were trying to ahead this, but we’ve never seen it. “
From about 2:00 am to 9 am, Helella was on mission to monitor evacuation alerts and to support the command staff of evacuation alerts, as needed.
From behind Firetruck, Helera said he had cooperated with three OEM officials. One will evaluate one of the focus on communication technology, and the firefighters of the county, who act as the Incident Commander, to evaluate wireless traffic, and to determine where to send resources. And evacuation warning.
“I have received a phone call. Check where the phone is. Make sure this area is exposed to evacuation warnings or orders,” said Herrera, who used the Genasys Protect website in the county. I mentioned it. “In the early stages, our priority is as follows. We were able to drive these people from here. We have evacuated them.”
According to the mirror, in the rose bowl, the incident command was composed of three SUVs parked side by side. County fire, sheriff, OEM.
A nearby truck contains the operations team. It functioned as a broker in radio communication between the command post and the fire battalion that is fighting the flame.
California Security Corps soldiers gather in the rose bowl parking lot after security of Euton Fire.
(Allen J. Shaben /Los Angelel Staims)
“Operations have acquired intelligence from various departments,” Miller said. “They are your eyes and ears.” The important thing is that the authorities have a helicopter and an airplane on the ground immediately after the fire began due to strong winds, so photos from the air where the fire has occurred. I didn’t have it.
The SUV has an open back hatch, revealing a trunk equipped with “command box, map, light, and radio”. The officers of the sheriff maintained a map of the evacuation area covered with transparent prexiglasses and green spencils, and marked them.
The team had a systematic process to determine whether to issue an evacuation order.
“There is a standard. Some need to be filled before the launch of the EVAC instruction,” said Herella. Authorities want to create additional dangers without unnecessarily issuing orders.
“You don’t want to make hysteria,” he said.
Helella said that these alerts were ultimately sent by OEM, and he helped to provide information to decisions. OEM officials stated that evacuation alerts have been issued and are adjusted and executed between teams, county firefighters, and security offices.
Herella refused to think that officials would take action slowly.
“It wasn’t,” Hey, we didn’t drop the ball, we were late, “he said. “The fire was very fast.”
However, the warning and evacuation system silenced from 12:51 am to 3:25 am, according to an archived alert Times Review. Significantly absent, there was a warning or order in the west side of the North Lake Avenue. This was starting to burn, according to interviews and wireless calls.
During this time, the mirror reminded me of hearing a radio transmission on the fire on the Wapero Street, and looked at the map and said, “Oh, it’s a heartbreaker. This is a heartbreaker.” I wasn’t aware that I didn’t.
At 2:37 am, he reported that some houses were burning in this area. One is near the cobuastate trail head at the northern end of Lake Avenue, two more blocks southwest of the Wappello Street.
The evacuation warning was not issued in the west of the lake, including these houses, and no evacuation order was issued because the mirror could not explain the gap until 3:25 am. Herrera refused to comment on a specific timing or order.
Anthony Malone, the chief of LA county fire department, talks to Altadena reporters on January 20.
(CARLIN STIEHL / for the time)
Without the official evacuation order, some sheriffs’ agents were clearly dangerous to the areas that are clearly seeking fire or service, according to Colonel Jabali Williams at Altadena’s station. I took it to evacuate the area that looks like it. He said his agent helped evacuate west of Lake Avenue at 3:30 am.
“The incident management team is assigning missions, and some of them are to evacuate certain areas,” said Williams. “But you don’t have to wait. If you need to evacuate the area, just make a presentation.”
It was unknown whether the incident command knew these evacuation.
A coordinated joint information center staff refused to discuss the details of their actions, but issued the following statement: The Emergency Administration, County Fire Station, and the Serialization Bureau promises that the process is prioritized and completely involved. “
Several families, killed by Eaton Fires, told Times that previous evacuation notification could cause death from death.
“Many of the lost lives were either of the elderly or disabled people. This is a pity because it is one of the vulnerable groups that most need from family and its support systems.” Died inside.
Elulien Kelly, 83 years old, center, daughter Lisa and son’s trevers. Kelly died in Eooton Fire.
(Buriana Navalo)
At 1:22 am, Kelly responded to the text from his granddaughter and asked how he was progressing at West Altadena’s house.
“In the living room looking outside,” Kelly wrote. “I’m going to take a picture.”
The photo never came.
“With notifications, we would have given some time to help our family,” said Navaro.
TIMES’s staff writer Keri BLAKINGER, Ruben Vives, and Summer Lin have contributed to this report.
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