Chaos, conflict and drones: 10 takeaways from LAFD’s report on the Palisades Fire

The Los Angeles Fire Department’s after action report — released Wednesday — details the challenges the department faced and the ways its response failed during the Palisades Fire in January.

The report, which is marked “for internal department use only” on every page, is quite critical, documenting shortcomings with preparation and response, and how systemic problems endangered the lives of firefighters and the public.

LAist has documented similar issues — particularly around communication between departments and with the public during evacuations, going back to the 2018 Woolsey Fire.

LAist on Wednesday asked the Fire Department to comment on the announcement of a man facing charges related to starting the Palisades Fire but has not received a response.

Here are 10 takeaways from the Fire Department's recent report.

1. Unprepared to perform

Overwhelmed by the complexity of the incident, several chief officers didn’t know what they were supposed to be doing, the report says, and reverted to responsibilities they had when at lower ranks. As a result, tasks were neglected as command and staff roles went unfilled.

2. Understaffing hampered the initial response

The number of firefighters and equipment dedicated to the initial fire response was not what would be expected on a red flag day, the report says. That lack of personnel “seriously impeded the ability of resources to provide initial suppression and structure defense efforts on the initial attack.”

3. Money influenced staffing levels

“The decision to deploy was overwhelmingly based on perceived financial constraints,” the document reads.

The responsibility of figuring out the amount and type of resources needed during red flag events can be traced to 2017, the report says, when standards about how to staff up during fire weather were softened. The report says that decision was prompted by financial and personnel shortages.

The changes also shifted the decision making to a “singular human being,” which means the “level of experience, knowledge, training and even the number of deployments in a year where there are limited incidents can introduce bias or even create complacency and ultimately influence the incorrect deployment model.” The report does not explicitly state whom that individual was.

4. Working for two days straight

Because of resource mismanagement, many firefighters worked more than 36 hours straight in the early stages of the fire. Some worked for more than 48 hours, the report says, inhaling gases released by burning lithium ion batteries and other pollutants. “The combination of fatigue, exhaustion and sleep deprivation severely hindered their ability to make safe decisions,” the report says. And the extended exposure to dangerous smoke put their health at short- and long-term risk.

5. Firefighters were denied help

“Several urgent requests for additional resources at the Palisades Fire were denied or delayed, which impacted the firefighters' ability to engage in effective structure defense,” says the report.

6. Hundreds of drones

More than 400 drones flew over the fire, some more than once, interrupting aerial firefighting efforts as pilots were forced to avoid collisions. One drone climbed to an altitude of 21,289 feet. And another hit a CL-415, resulting in an arrest and charges.

Flying a drone near a wildfire can be a federal crime.

7. Inability to track where people are

“Accurately tracking assigned resources during the initial attack proved daunting because of radio communication issues, insufficient situational awareness and the changing incident organization,” reads the report.

8. Conflict among team members

Some people in the Emergency Operations Center (the central hub of coordination for the fires) didn’t understand what their roles were, according to the report. And even if they did, some of them refused to help others with duties outside of their own: “This caused conflicts,” the report says. The report does not name any individuals.

9. Delays in evacuation orders

“There was a delay in communicating evacuation orders, warnings and shelter-in-place notifications to the public,” the report says. “As a result, spontaneous evacuations occurred without structured traffic control, causing citizens to block strategic routes to the fire.”

A law enforcement representative with the ability to oversee evacuations and make decisions couldn’t be found for “an extended period.”

10. Communication chaos

Many of the problems described above can be traced back to problems with communications.

One of the report’s recommendations is that the Fire Department needs a dedicated communications plan for wildfires.

Here’s a list of some of the communications problems the report documents:

• There was a delay in defining responsibilities for different divisions throughout LAFD. When those responsibilities were defined, they weren’t communicated to those already working on the fire.
• Task forces and strike teams didn’t communicate resource needs, delaying support around structure defense. 
• Radio communication was chaotic, as responders working on separate fires (Palisades and Sunset) tried to talk on one frequency, leading to an overwhelming amount of radio traffic. That also created  “delayed communication, reduced situational awareness and resources struggling to coordinate tactics and tasks.”
• The Department Operations Center wasn’t able to maintain accurate information on resources, impacting situational awareness.
• Reporters who reached out for information were directed to an LAFD email address, but no one was processing the requests. 
• Firefighters on the ground didn’t monitor air-to-ground communications.
• When Cal Fire, the state firefighting agency, arrived, no contact information was given, and even after they took a leading role, LAFD continued to communicate using old frequencies, causing confusion.
• A repeater was installed on the Palisades water tank to boost communication capabilities in hilly areas. The report later notes that “an LAFD repeater was set up as a backup system but was not utilized by any resources on the Palisades incident.”

A journalist's printed copy of the LAFD's report.

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Matthew Ballinger

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LAist

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