LA County Lawmaker Wants Audit To Examine Eaton And Palisades Fire Responses

In the months since the Eaton and Palisades wildfires ravaged through the LA County area, a local lawmaker is now calling for an official statewide audit to examine the fire responses to ensure that when future issues of a similar nature arise, the county is better prepared.

Democratic Assemblyman John Harabedian, who represents Pasadena, recently announced his decision to request a state audit, as impacted residents still have a host of questions about what went wrong during that disastrous day back in January.

“Generally speaking, why did alerts not go out? The 18 deaths in Altadena happened primarily in the western part of Altadena, where the fires had been raging for eight hours before alerts were received,” Harabedian said. “By that time at 3 or 4 in the morning, the fire was on the doorsteps for many of my neighbors and some of whom didn’t make it out.”

In addition to the 18 people who were left dead in Altadena due to the Eaton fire, 12 people also died in the Palisades fire.

 “I really think we owe it to my constituents and my neighbors to figure out what happened,” Harabedian continued. “So I’ve requested an independent audit to examine the state and local response to the fires in both Altadena and the Palisades.”

If approved by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, the audit will examine the complete timeline response of both the Eaton and Palisades wildfires—including investigating the evacuation orders, first responders’ resources, and vegetation management in the area.

“The audit will focus on a number of things, but mainly on how systems function in real time, looking at evacuation alerts, agency coordination, equipment deployment, utility preparedness, everything,” Harabedian explained. 

“And really I think that it is incumbent on the state to push for this type of transparency, accountability, and the improved readiness that will hopefully come from this will help when the next disaster strikes,” he added.

Harabedian’s audit request is running alongside other California and LA County investigations into the fire response.

He shared what he hopes will be accomplished with the audit and how it will impact any future natural disasters in the area. “At a minimum, I want to see improved coordination and communication during future disasters,” Harabedian said. 

“All coordination and being able to communicate during these disasters, whether it’s the fire, whether it’s the earthquake, whether it’s a flood, that is something that needs to be looked at across the board,” he continued. “Because unfortunately, we will be dealing with the next disaster very soon.”

SEE ALSO:

Real Estate Developers Are Buying Altadena’s Burned Lots As Residents Face Harsh Financial Realities Of Rebuilding

Evidence Of Human Error Grows In Altadena Fire Evacuation Investigation

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