No after-action reports were needed to know that Los Angeles badly mishandled last January’s fires, which damaged or destroyed more than 18,000 structures, burned more than 37,000 acres and resulted in 31 direct deaths. Yet the country’s second most-populous city has managed to botch the process of reviewing what went wrong.
The latest development: Mayor Karen Bass (D) directed the former interim fire chief to water down key findings of the report, according to the Los Angeles Times. Bass denies this, and her office says the mayor got rid of the old chief because she was upset about the response to the fire.
What’s beyond dispute is that the report was toned down before its release in October. “Failures,” for example, became “challenges.” Current Fire Chief Jaime Moore acknowledges that the final draft was altered to “soften language and reduce explicit criticism of the department leadership.”
The report’s principal author refused to endorse the final version because of changes he called “highly unprofessional and inconsistent with our established standards.” What came out downplayed egregious mistakes, such as failing to deploy crews to Pacific Palisades ahead of the fire despite dangerously high winds in the forecast. (The mayor traveled to Africa despite such warnings and was there when the blazes began.)
Also getting short shrift was the Lachman fire on New Year’s Day 2025, which reignited as the Palisades fire six days later. Firefighters were reportedly told to leave the site even though the ground was still smoldering. There was sensitivity, according to court documents, because the small fire took place in an “avoidance area” that contained endangered milkvetch plants. It’s safe to say those milkvetch plants didn’t fare so well in the subsequent blaze. When this became public in October, Bass called for an independent investigation.
The mayor reportedly rationalized toning down the report because putting out all the facts could increase the city’s liability. Had she gotten away with a cover-up, it might also have spared her from more embarrassment heading into an election year. Failing to learn from mistakes, especially in such a fire-prone area, increases the odds they will get repeated.
If the City of Angels can’t even get a review right, what should Californians trying to rebuild their homes and communities expect from one of the most regulated and slow-moving bureaucracies in the country?
The post A cover-up in Los Angeles appeared first on Washington Post.
