The head of the Los Angeles City Fire Department (LAFD) revealed this week that the after-action analysis of the devastating Palisades Fire was edited several times to protect leadership, a report said.
The Palisades Fire, which ignited in January 2025, was the third most destructive in California’s history, Cal Fire has said.
LAFD Chief Jaime Moore made the admission about the report during an LA Fire Commission meeting on Tuesday, according to KNBC.
“It is now clear that multiple drafts were edited to soften language and reduce explicit criticism of the department leadership in that final report,” Moore was quoted by the station as saying. “This editing occurred prior to my appointment as Fire Chief. And I can assure you that nothing of this sort will happen ever again while I am Fire Chief.”
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In November, KNBC reported that an anonymous letter was sent to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmembers Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Traci Park claiming that the LAFD’s after-action report on the Palisades Fire wasn’t thorough because its preparation was supervised by some of the same fire officials who made decisions during the blaze.
Moore also said that the department’s handling of the Lachman Fire — a small New Year’s Day 2025 brush fire that ignited in the Pacific Palisades, eventually leading to the Palisades Fire — wasn’t good enough, KNBC added.
“At the time, fire companies were instructed to pick up hose. The department genuinely believed the fire was fully extinguished. That was based on the information, condition and procedures in place at that moment,” Moore reportedly said.
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Firefighters working the site of the Lachman Fire were ordered to leave the original burn scene despite tree stumps there being hot to the touch, according to a review of firefighter text messages by the Los Angeles Times last October.
The newspaper, citing the texts, reported that the firefighters’ battalion chief told them to pack up their hoses and depart the area on Jan. 2, one day after the Lachman Fire was declared contained. Then on Jan. 7, heavy winds reignited smoldering roots from the same area, sparking the Palisades Fire, which burned some 7,000 structures and killed 12 people.
“As a result, we’ve already changed our mop-up procedures, and we formally incorporated the use of the drone technology to enhance post suppression verification, situational awareness and detection of residual heat,” Moore also said Tuesday, according to WNBC.
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