During last year’s fires in the Los Angeles area, police dispatchers had to temporarily route 911 calls through a single captain’s personal cellphone.
asserted
dispatchers → have → cellphone
So many calls came in that some firefighter units went “dark” — meaning dispatchers were no longer tracking them.
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dispatchers → come → them
As communications broke down, some firefighters began to take their cues from captains they trusted instead of the agency’s top leaders.
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they → break → leaders
These are just a few examples of emergency communications failures described in a new, comprehensive review of the deadly fires.
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These → describe → fires
The findings paint a picture of a response marred by poor preparation, communication issues and disorganized leadership that struggled to coordinate between jurisdictions.
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that → paint → jurisdictions
The 724-page report, released Friday, comes from UL Research Institutes (ULRI), an organization that focuses on safety science.
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that → release → science
Gov. Gavin Newsom tasked the researchers with evaluating the conditions, decisions, actions and systems that influenced the conflagration.
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that → task → conflagration
This is the second of two ULRI reports evaluating the fires.
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This → evaluate → fires
Overall, the researchers found that Los Angeles authorities were not prepared or trained for such extreme conditions and that they struggled to work side by side as the situation deteriorated.
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situation → find → side
On the night the Eaton Fire took off, for example, “the speed and scale of the event overwhelmed the 911 system,” Derek Alconis, a senior research program manager and lead investigator at ULRI, said in a news briefing.
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Alconis → take → briefing
“Calls came in faster than dispatch could manage or assign them.”
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dispatch → come → them
As the situation worsened, agencies struggled to communicate, and those in charge lost track of where crews were working and what they were doing.
“It was not an effective unified command,” Alconis said, adding that the confusion hampered evacuation efforts.
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confusion → worsen → efforts
The report confirmed previous assessments of how the Palisades Fire started: LAFD did not fully mop up an earlier burn in the area.
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LAFD → confirm → area
The department did not have standards for that kind of work, the report says.
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report → have → work
The original burn, called the Lachman Fire, was the result of an alleged arson.
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burn → call → arson
The trial of the man accused of starting that fire ended in a mistrial this summer after the jury deadlocked.
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jury → accuse → mistrial
A second trial is scheduled for this fall.
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trial → schedule → fall
In a statement, LAFD said it was carefully reviewing the analysis.
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it → say → analysis
“While FSRI found that no single decision explains last January’s tragedy, that does not lessen LAFD’s responsibility for the decisions that were ours,” LAFD said.
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LAFD → find → decisions
“The report identifies a number of areas where the LAFD must do better.
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LAFD → identify → areas
They include how we confirm a fire is truly out before dangerous weather returns, how we track and direct every unit on a major fire, and how we plan and carry out evacuations with our partners.
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we → include → partners
We accept those findings.”
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We → accept → findings
The department said it had implemented a series of changes after its own review, including improving staffing procedures during dangerous fire weather and developing protocols to ensure fires are fully extinguished.
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fires → say → protocols
“This report holds the LAFD to a high standard, as it should,” the statement said.
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statement → hold → standard
“We will carefully evaluate every recommendation that applies to us, continue to track our progress, and strengthen our ability to protect the communities we serve.”
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we → evaluate → communities
The Los Angeles Police Department did not respond to a request for comment, and the Sheriff’s Department did not provide a response by the time of publication.
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Department → respond → publication
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Fire Department said the agency could not comment because of pending litigation.
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agency → say → litigation
The fires, which started during a windstorm in January 2025, killed 31 people in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena communities.
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which → start → communities
The blazes destroyed more than 16,250 homes and commercial buildings.
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blazes → destroy → homes
Many residents still have not returned home and have struggled to clean up contamination left by smoke and debris.
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residents → return → smoke
Frustration over the fire response and the rebuilding effort has become a heated election issue in the Los Angeles mayoral race.
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Frustration → become → race
The new report says, however, that the shortcomings it outlines did not drive the tragedy.
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it → say → tragedy
Emergency responders were up against extreme fire behavior in windy conditions that made the homes themselves the fire’s fuel.
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homes → make → conditions
“The conditions in January 2025 were perfect for fire,” said Steve Kerber, a vice president at ULRI who leads its Fire Safety Research Institute.
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who → say → Institute
“The speed, scale and complexity of the Palisades and Eaton fires exceeded many of the capabilities of the systems designed to support suppression.”
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speed → exceed → suppression
Many of the 175 findings in the report will not come as a surprise to those who have followed the flurry of lawsuits, investigative news reports and city and county after-action reviews.
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who → come → lawsuits
But it offers a comprehensive picture of what went wrong, as well as something of a road map for the wind-driven urban firestorms that are growing more common across the West.
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that → offer → West
The report describes plenty of successes, as well.
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report → describe → successes
The authors said that the National Weather Service effectively communicated the extreme fire weather threat, and it credited a program of volunteers called Community Brigade with helping residents to evacuate.
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residents → say → volunteers
Private fire companies, too, helped save some structures and prevent fire spread, it says, though the report acknowledges that private firefighting is controversial.
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firefighting → help → spread
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
