In a November 12 letter from the United States Senate Committee on Investigations, a request was made to California Department of Parks and Recreation Director Armando Quintero for information regarding the Palisades Fire.
“Public reports have raised questions about Los Angeles’ wildfire preparations and the response to the January 2025 wildfires,” the letter stated, and asked for all records, including texts, emails, email attachments, reports, phone/voice mail or recordings/records of verbal communications and drafts, surrounding the Lachman and Palisades Fires.
The letter pointed out that the Palisades Fire is alleged to have been a re-ignition of the earlier January 1 Lachman Fire, which occurred in Topanga State Park, which is a California State Park.
In addition to information about whether the fire was fully out, (L.A. Times received text messages that stated local firefighters disagreed with their superiors because they felt the New Year’s Eve fire was not completely out), the committee also asked for all communications from Pacific Palisades residents.
It has also been alleged that firefighters were not allowed to bring a bulldozer onto the land, to scrape the outer edge of the burn scar after the Lachman Fire flames were out. A person working with the state was worried about the environmental impact and supposedly showed a map of native plants that could not be disturbed.2025.11.12 RHJ and RS to CA DPR
Environmental concern versus brush clearance on state land is a major concern in the Palisades, which is located in a very high fire hazard severity zone.
In August 2023, CTN wrote a story about brush clearance on Ca. State Parkland and spoke to Richard Fink, California State Parks District Superintendent who said, that the state does not do brush clearance on park land, because “We’re here to protect the natural habitat.”
By law, State Parks cannot create fuel breaks on behalf of private landowners. If a homeowner desires to create an additional or larger fire barrier beyond their property line, State Parks offers a permitting process.
“The state has fuel modification plan,” Fink said, noting that parks is not in business to clear land, but rather to maintain a natural habitat.
Residents were told that if they were worried about overgrown state land that abuts their property, they could apply for a permit and after paying a small fee, could clear the area.
Residents of Castellammare did raise money to clear brush in 2020. After obtaining permits from the state, three state biologists came out and “walked the land” with the homeowner, marking bushes that should stay and non-native plants that should be removed. The community raised more than $65,000 to pay for clearance on state property. click here.
In 2020, CTN reported “Coastal Commission Fines LADWP almost $2 Million after it Destroys Rare Plants above Highlands.” DWP started to replace aging power poles, but as the L.A. Times reported DWP crews had “used bulldozers to construct a graded road as part of a wildfire prevention project in the Pacific Palisades Highlands and in the process may have destroyed hundreds of Braunton’s milkvetch plants.”
The Senate Committee requested from Ca. Parks and Rec “All records referring or related to prescribed burns in Los Angeles County, including in Topanga State Park, including the potential effects on endangered or protected species; and any assessments or communications related to the potential effects of forgoing or delaying a prescribed burn on future wildfire severity.”
The three-page letter had numerous other requests that Quintero and his department were to produce no later than 5 p.m. EST on November 26.