In the weeks following the Palisades and Eaton fires, KTLA submitted numerous public records requests seeking communications to and from top leaders—before, during, and after the unprecedented fire emergency—as communities struggled to begin cleanup and rebuilding efforts. The goal was to gain insight into the actions taken by city and county leaders during those critical days.
One request was sent to Los Angeles City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who served as acting mayor at the onset of the fire emergency while Mayor Karen Bass was out of the country.
KTLA’s original request, submitted Feb. 26, 2025, sought any digital communications (email, text, WhatsApp, other) originating from or to Marqueece Harris-Dawson between Jan. 4, 2025, and Feb. 24, 2025, related to the Palisades Fire, LAFD, fire, Mayor Karen Bass, wind event, and LAFD Chief Crowley. As previously reported by KTLA, Harris-Dawson’s office initially responded that no digital communications matched the request.
L.A. City Says No Digital Communications Exist for Acting Mayor During Palisades Fire
KTLA then broadened the request, asking for any digital communications (email, text, WhatsApp, etc.) originating from or to Marqueece Harris-Dawson between January 4, 2025, and February 24, 2025.
This month, Harris-Dawson’s office provided dozens of new emails and PDF attachments from the requested dates. Some documents directly referenced windstorm preparations, the Palisades Fire itself, and the days that followed.
Among the documents were talking points prepared early in the emergency, presumably for Harris-Dawson’s use in interviews and news conferences. At the time, the fire had burned 778 acres and threatened 13,000 structures.
The city’s preparedness was emphasized in the talking points:
“In response to the National Weather Service announcement of the coming windstorms our City Departments were readied, LAFD pre-deployed units to high-risk areas, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Public Works, and others are on standby and ready to respond.”
The talking points urged Angelenos, “We need everyone’s cooperation in order for the Fire Department to do their jobs effectively. LAFD and LAPD are under tactical alert and responding to emergency calls only.”
By the next day, the situation had worsened. The fire had grown to 5,000 acres, displacing 30,000 people and destroying 1,000 structures. The tone of the talking points shifted, “The City is doing everything we can to combat these fires. You cannot prepare for an act of god. No resources are being spared…”
The documents also addressed growing concern over Mayor Bass’ absence…
The next point made in the talking points obtained by KTLA in all bold letters, ”I, along with department heads, other local electeds, have been in constant contact with the mayor. She has returned from an overseas diplomatic mission on behalf of the President and has been on-the-ground since her plane landed.”
Mayor Bass had traveled to Ghana on Jan. 4 at the request of the Biden administration and returned to Los Angeles on Jan. 8. Her level of engagement during the fire has been the subject of scrutiny in the months since.
The talking points outlined the states of emergency in effect, thanked first responders for their non-stop efforts and included this, “let me say to the people of Los Angeles – The full might of the City of Los Angeles stands with you. These devastating fires have displaced thousands of residents from their homes. Let me assure you: together, we will get through this.”
By Jan. 9, internal communications from the Emergency Operations Center reflected the scope of the natural disaster.
“After fires are out for 12-24 hours this operation will then move to recovery and re-population mode. This part of the operation will be a logistical challenge. The main challenge will be validating residents before giving them access to their property. This part of the operation will include PD. Areas will then open to the public, the timing of that access will depend on the scope and scale of the challenge. City agencies [departments] will be ramped up because of the numbers of structures and acreage involved. Agencies named: Street Lighting, Street Trees, clearing rubble left from structures, cars, etc. This is a major shift. City Agencies will then provide the bulk of services with public safety providing support.“
KTLA asked Harris-Dawson’s office why these documents were not included in the original request. The office said the initial request was interpreted as seeking data on the fires related to Mayor Bass and Chief Crowley, which yielded no records. The revised request, they said, returned any and all responsive records.
Notably absent from the documents were direct communications with Harris-Dawson, the mayor, the LAFD chief, or most other city leaders. There were no text messages or WhatsApp messages.
We asked Harris-Dawson’s office specifically, “Does the City Council President use any other email devices or SMS devices in connection with his official work with the City of Los Angeles or other email address?”
The office did not specifically answer and referred us to its previous statements.
Other city offices that received similar public records requests have provided KTLA with texts and other messages.
A review of the documents shows Harris-Dawson used both a city email and a personal Gmail address for city business on some occasions. His office said KTLA’s request only covered city email accounts. However, under the California Public Records Act, personal emails can also be subject to disclosure if they pertain to official city business.
The post ‘You cannot prepare for an act of God’: Newly-released documents reveal gaps in Palisades Fire response appeared first on KTLA.
