Los Angeles Times: LAFD ‘Watered Down’ Palisades Fire Report

The Los Angeles Fire Department watered-down its after-action report in the wake of the horrific Palisades fire, according to an explosive report from the Los Angeles Times.

An investigation by the LA Times revealed that the LAFD’s long awaited after-action report about the department’s handling of the disastrous fire, which killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of structures, had multiple deletions and redactions to provide a smoother picture than what happened in reality.

In one instance, LAFD officials removed language saying that the decision not to fully staff up and pre-deploy all available crews and engines ahead of the extreme wind forecast “did not align” with the department’s policy and procedures during red flag days.

Another deleted passage in the report said that some crews waited more than an hour for an assignment the day of the fire. A section on “failures” was renamed “primary challenges,” and an item saying that crews and leaders had violated national guidelines on how to avoid firefighter deaths and injuries was scratched.

The first draft of the report in August, overseen by the then-interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva after Mayor Karen Bass fired Kristin Crowley, also had side notes in the margins with suggestions to replace the cover page from a “negative” photo of flaming palm trees to a “positive” photo of firefighters hard at work. As many as seven drafts of the report were created before the final publication. No names were attached to the edited drafts.

As Breitbart News previously reported, a lawsuit filed by over 3,000 Pacific Palisades residents alleged the state of California failed to properly monitor the embers from a smoldering fire set by an arsonist roughly six days before it grew into the most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history.

Documents obtained by NewsNation showed that the fire began in the early morning of January 1, 2025, and the state failed to monitor the embers over the next six days.

According to documents obtained exclusively by NewsNation, it began in the early morning hours of Jan. 1 when an alleged arsonist started the Lachman Fire.

Six days later, underground embers reignited, starting a second and more devastating fire, the Palisades Fire.

According to the Los Angeles Times report, some drafts of the LAFD after-report noted that at least one on-duty captain called Fire Station 23 in the Palisades on January 7 to report that “the Lachman fire started up again.”

“The reference was deleted in one draft, then restored in the public version, which otherwise contains only a brief mention of the previous fire,” noted the Times. “Some have said that the after-action report’s failure to thoroughly examine the Lachman fire reignition was designed to shield LAFD leadership and Mayor Karen Bass’ administration from criticism and accountability.”

When pressed by the Times, the LAFD refused to answer questions regarding the deletions and redactions to the previous drafts.

“All information regarding the draft development, edits, internal deliberations, and decision-making process is associated with matters that are currently subject to an ongoing federal court proceeding,” the statement said. “Consistent with standard legal practice and upon advice from counsel, the LAFD must refrain from providing additional comment while the case is active to avoid prejudicing the proceedings or addressing matters that could be subjected to judicial review.”

A spokesperson for Mayor Karen Bass said that the mayor’s office did not demand any changes.

“The report was written and edited by the Fire Department,” the spokesperson, Clara Karger, said in an email. “We did not red-line, review every page or review every draft of the report. We did not discuss the Lachman Fire because it was not part of the report.”

Read the full report here.

Mayoral candidate Rick Caruso called the report explosive in a video posted to X on Monday.

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