A resident wrote the Los Angeles Fire Department on April 17 and asked, “Is it possible to get an Incident Report for our home, which was destroyed (1/7/25) in the fire?”
LAFD responded on April 21, “The fire report is still in progress. Please check back with us in two weeks for any updates.”
The resident responded “That’s what you said two weeks ago and then two weeks before that. Come on.”
The resident sent the interchange to CTN and said, “What’s up with the LAFD? No incident report, and it’s been three months. Sounds like a good article to me.”
On April 23, this editor contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which is conducting the investigation. ATF is a federal agency with jurisdiction for investigating fires and crimes of arson. Prior ATF investigations have included the Maui Wildfire Disaster and the Conception Dive Boat Fire. Fifteen ATF investigators arrived in L.A. the weekend after the fire.
This editor spoke to ATF media spokesperson Douglas Shore. He said that the investigation is still underway because investigators are thorough.
He was asked if there was a timeline or an estimation when the investigation might be complete. Shore said it was a fair question, but he did not have one.
CTN, the Westside Current and the Los Angeles Times have all asked that records be released and have written articles about the failure to do so click here.
There have been 115 public records requests for the Palisades Fire by different media groups. To see all the queries, click here.
The Methodist Church started burning on January 8. The Condo building behind the Y is still there, but burned later that day.
Requests range from specific information such as, “I am working with Community United Methodist Church in Pacific Palisades. We had buildings at 801 Via de la Paz, 568 Via de la Paz, and 15121, 15123, 15125,15127, 15129, and 15135 Sunset. Do you have records on when calls came in for these locations saying what time, what day, each of the properties were on fire?”
To something more general: “Records Requested:
(1) The Incident Action Plan (IAP) or comparable documents as produced for the Palisades Incident covering the operational period from January 7, 2025, until January 9, 2025.
(2) For the dates January 7 and 8, 2025, all audio recordings or transcriptions of the tactical radio channels used on the Palisades Incident by resources in Division Zulu and Division Alpha, including but not limited to LAC V-1, V Fire 22, V Fire 23, Air-to-Ground and CDF T40 and T25.
(3) A list of fire resources on the Palisades Incident positioned, assigned or deployed to the Palisades Highlands on January 8, 2025, along with the time at which they were assigned to that geographical area. Additionally, if they were subsequently reassigned away from that area, the time at which they were reassigned.
If you determine that some but not all of the information is exempt from disclosure and you intend to withhold it, I ask that you redact it for the time being and make the rest available as requested.
Because this request is on a matter of public concern, I request a fee waiver. I am also requesting that documents be provided in electronic format, as this is already the manner in which they are retained.”
LAFD’s standard response is “Please be advised that the LAFD has not identified any documents that are responsive to your request, and therefore considers this request completed and closed.”
The Chase Building was still standing on the morning of January 8.
On February 11 CTN wrote: On January 8 and 9, about an additional 100 structures burned in Pacific Palisades. Can you provide communication, email, message or telephone calls to or from LAFD Chief Crowley that referenced the cessation of all firefighting efforts in Pacific Palisades, that might have included asking for additional water tanks, using swimming pools to supply water or aerial help. This would have been late January 7 or in the am on Wednesday, January 8.
THE RESPONSE: Please be advised that the LAFD has not identified any documents that are responsive to your request, and therefore considers this request completed and closed.
The Chase Bank building burned January 8 after the Palisades Fire had swept the town.
On March 8, CTN wrote: “At the start of the Palisades Fire on January 7, how many engines/firefighters were assigned to the Eastern Flank of the fire and where were they located:
THE RESPONSE: The Palisades incidents are the subject of an active investigation by the ATF National Response Team, which prevents information related to the fire from being disclosed at this time. The Department is cognizant of its responsibilities under the Act. It recognizes the statutory scheme was enacted to maximize citizen access to the workings of government. The Act does not mandate disclosure of all documents within the government’s possession. Rather, by specific exemption and reference to other statutes, the Act recognizes that there are boundaries where the public’s right to access must be balanced against such weighty considerations as the right of privacy, a right of constitutional dimension under California Constitution, Article 1, Section 1. The law also exempts from disclosure records that are privileged or confidential or otherwise exempt under either express provisions of the Act or pursuant to applicable federal or state law, per California Government Code Sections 7927.705, 7922.000, and 7928.300.
This request is considered closed.
On March 13, CTN wrote: “When people evacuated down Temescal Canyon Road around 8:30 p.m. on January 7 there were lines of fire trucks in the Will Rogers Beach Parking lot. When a separate group of residents evacuated early morning on January 8, there were still lines of fire trucks in the Will Rogers Beach Parking lot. Why were the trucks not up in neighborhoods putting out spot fires? Why was the Palisades High School swimming pool on Temescal (at Bowdoin) and other neighborhood pools not used to put out the fires on Radcliffe, that eventually burned all the way to the bluffs. I was told that both City and County fire trucks have an eductor pump that would allow them to use swimming pool water.
THE RESPONSE: The Palisades incidents are the subject of an active investigation by the ATF National Response Team (same as above).
Only one request of the 115 about the fire department is still OPEN: I’m with the Wall Street Journal. Under the California Public Records Act, I request the following records related to the January 7, 2025, fire in the vicinity of Pacific Palisades that later became identified as the “Palisades Fire.”
- Records from January 6-7, 2025, showing:
– Number of LAFD water-carrying engines available for pre-deployment across the city.
– Deployment times and locations of these engines across the city.
– Writings, including but not limited to planning documents, and emails and texts between the command staff/supervisors, concerning the pre-deployment of these engines.
- Please provide the answer as to how many LAFD firefighters were on the shift starting Jan. 6 into the morning of Jan. 7, and what time they would be due to be relieved by the next shift.
-Communications (including but not limited to emails, texts or internal documents) between LAFD command staff/supervisors from January 6-7, 2025 regarding:
- a) Deliberations and decisions on whether to order that outgoing shift of firefighters to stay on duty Tuesday morning, Jan. 7 as a second shift came on.
- b) Timing and details of additional firefighter activations
Please note that this information has already been made public in the Los Angeles Times click here.
Please provide records in electronic format where available. If any portion of this request requires clarification, please contact me rather than denying the request.
And so, we wait.
Thank you for pursuing this. My condo complex in the Highlands (the “Upper Woodies”) burned down around 3:00 in the afternoon on January 8. The next complex on Palisades Drive (the “Lower Woodies”) burned down earlier that afternoon, around 1:00 or so. From what I understand, there were some firefighters present when these condo complexes burned, but they made no firefighting efforts. Was that because there was no water in the hydrants? The Upper Woodies did have a pool (still full of water after the fire) and was immediately across Santa Ynez canyon from the reservoir and the Santa Ynez Helispot. I would like to know more about what happened on January 8.
Thank you for your efforts, it means so much to those of us who are suffering from this loss.
The New York Time and LA Times are having the same problem. Keep up the good work, Sue! These logs are vital for anyone who wants to understand how a small brushfire overcame an entire town for the first time in over a century. The fact that the LAFD has been silent four months (other than to steal valor from the civilians, private contractors, and out-of-town fire departments who actually were on the front line) already speaks loads.
Agree with all of these comments, and my add is that they are stalling because of how devastatingly embarrassing this report is going to be. For example, at 8:03 p.m. the fire alarms went off at my house in the Upper Alphabets, and I was alerted by ACS Security (perhaps some more information is with the security companies around the Palisades?). I was in Newport Beach, and called 911, which incorrectly routed me to LA County Fire. A wonderful man there transferred the call to LAFD. IT RANG AND RANG FOR MINUTES, AND NO ONE EVER PICKED UP!!!! The LA County FD man must have been hanging on the phone with me, because I heard his voice come back on, and he said, “can I have your address?” and unfortunately we all know that no one ever came to help. But there is data there somewhere—–LAFD call logs will be blank since no one was answering the calls. This would be step 1 embarrassing in a very long list.