LOS ANGELES (KTLA) – The Eaton Fire near Altadena and Pasadena has claimed at least 17 lives as of Tuesday afternoon, and while firefighters work to extinguish the blaze, criticism of the evacuation warning system has already been raised. It’s starting to rise.
The Los Angeles Times reported that evacuation orders were not issued via radio warnings in western Altadena “until hours after the fire broke out.”
East Altadena and other neighborhoods were evacuated on the night of Jan. 7, just hours after the fire broke out around 6:30 p.m., but neighborhoods west of Lake Avenue were evacuated at 3:25 a.m. “He did not receive an electronic evacuation order or an evacuation advisory until then,” the Times explains.
“By then, embers were raining down on neighborhoods west of Altadena, setting houses on fire,” the report added.
All 17 people confirmed dead in the Eaton Fire, which now spans about 14,000 acres, were found west of Lake Avenue, the Times added.
Power transmission towers highlighted as source of deadly Eaton fire
One west Altadena resident told KTLA’s Chip Yost that he didn’t have the emergency alert on his cell phone turned on, but didn’t notice the evacuation order or alert until deputies heard it over a loudspeaker at 5 a.m. He said there wasn’t. After a few minutes, his life was in danger.
“At 5:15, I looked out the window and saw embers flying through the air. … At 5:30, I opened the door and there was just a wall of fire.” he said.
Officials have promised at least one investigation into the response to emergency warnings during the spate of wildfires, and Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Berger said she was “deeply concerned,” according to the Times. told.
“The life-saving emergency calls that were made on that horrific night need to be thoroughly investigated. From what I hear, it was an absolutely chaotic night for both the fire service and first responders.” she said.
In a statement provided to the Times, the Office of Emergency Management said that “wireless emergency alerts are just one of several means of notifying residents to evacuate their homes during a fire emergency.” Ta.
“Our response includes door-knocking and street patrols using loudspeakers announcing the need for evacuation, as well as utilizing local media to communicate news to residents,” the OEM added. . “It is a layered process and system intended to provide redundancy during local and widespread disasters.”
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