By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- An independent investigation commissioned by Gov. Gavin Newsom found the Los Angeles Fire Department ignored multiple warnings that the Jan. 1, 2025, Lachman fire was still smoldering before it reignited into the Palisades fire, which killed 12 people and destroyed more than 6,800 structures.
- The UL Research Institute’s Fire Safety Research Institute found LAFD lacked a comprehensive procedure to confirm such fires were fully extinguished, and struggled to track personnel and coordinate with the Los Angeles Police Department once the fire erupted Jan. 7.
- LAFD said in a statement it accepts the findings, marking a shift from October 2025, when a department spokesperson described “holdover fires” as extremely difficult to detect after federal prosecutors first alleged the Palisades fire was a rekindling of the Lachman fire.
- Since Fire Chief Jaime Moore took over the department, LAFD says it has implemented 92% of recommendations from its own after-action report and introduced new post-containment procedures using drones and thermal imaging.
- Mediation in lawsuits filed by fire survivors against the city and other entities is expected to begin in early October; the mediation will negotiate potential compensation but will not determine responsibility.
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Fire Department has acknowledged missteps leading up to and during its initial response to the 2025 Palisades fire, following release of an independent investigation into the blaze that killed 12 people and destroyed more than 6,800 structures.
Wally Skalij/TNS
The investigation, commissioned by Gov. Gavin Newsom, found the department ignored multiple warnings that the Jan. 1 Lachman fire remained smoldering in the days before it reignited into the Palisades fire on Jan. 7, according to the Los Angeles Times. The department also lacked a comprehensive procedure to ensure such fires were fully extinguished, the report found. Once the Palisades fire broke out, the UL Research Institute’s Fire Safety Research Institute found LAFD struggled to track all responding personnel and lacked coordination with the Los Angeles Police Department, which assisted with evacuations.
“While FSRI found that no single decision explains last [year’s] tragedy, that does not lessen LAFD’s responsibility for the decisions that were ours,” the department said in a statement to the Times. “The report identifies a number of areas where the LAFD must do better. 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. We accept those findings.”
The statement represents a notable shift from October 2025, when federal prosecutors first alleged the Palisades fire was a rekindling of the Lachman fire. At the time, an LAFD public information officer posted on social media that “holdover fires” like the Lachman fire are “extremely difficult to detect.” Subsequent Times reporting found that firefighters and nearby residents had observed smoldering in the burn area, and that LAFD leaders did little when those concerns were reported.
After Mayor Karen Bass appointed Jaime Moore to lead the department, Moore committed to the outside investigation into LAFD’s handling of the Lachman fire. Since taking over, the department says it has implemented 92% of the recommendations from its own after-action report, which did not analyze the Lachman fire response in detail, and has put new post-containment procedures in place using drones and thermal imaging to confirm a fire is fully extinguished.
Many fire survivors have joined lawsuits against the city of Los Angeles and other entities over alleged missteps that enabled or worsened the fire. In August, a lead attorney for plaintiffs announced the city had agreed to enter settlement talks; mediation is expected to begin in early October and will negotiate potential victim compensation without determining responsibility.