‘We were 100% alone’: Fire alerts came too late for some Altadena residents
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- Late evacuation orders in Altadena raise questions.
- Against all odds, Black residents built something remarkable in Altadena. Then the fire came.
- Here’s a look at free concert tickets for people impacted by the wildfires.
- And here’s today’s e-newspaper
Late evacuation orders in Altadena raise questions
It’s been a little over two weeks since the Eaton fire ravaged Altadena, killing 17 people and destroying thousands of structures.
As of Friday, more than 14,000 acres have burned and the fire was 95% contained.
Earlier this week, residents were allowed back in the area to survey the charred remains of the neighborhood. While the rebuilding process is certainly a main priority, revelations about the timing of evacuations during the start of the fire raises more questions for many Altadena residents.
As my colleagues Terry Castleman and Ian James reported, records, radio logs and interviews show that residents living west of Lake Avenue were not told to evacuate via electronic alerts until many hours after the Eaton fire started.
Of the 17 deaths confirmed so far in the fire, all of them occurred in the area west of Lake Avenue.
Here’s more on the delayed evacuation alerts.
Some residents didn’t get evacuation alerts until the day after the fire started
As fire rapidly spread out of Eaton Canyon around 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 7, many neighborhoods in eastern Altadena and surrounding areas got evacuation warnings and orders that night.
But records reviewed by The Times show that Altadena neighborhoods west of North Lake Avenue did not get electronic evacuation orders until 3:25 a.m., nearly nine hours after the fire broke out. The area also never received electronic evacuation warnings before then, even as multiple fires broke out west of the North Lake Avenue boundary, according to a review by The Times.
“We were 100% alone,” Claire Robinson told Ian. “There was no system to alert people.” She and other survivors said they were fortunate to escape with their lives because they had no warning.
More timely and targeted alerts could’ve changed how residents reacted
Rodney Nickerson, 82, died in his Altadena home of 57 years. As the Eaton fire raged on, Rodney didn’t want to leave. According to his daughter, he said: “If they come and make me evacuate, I’ll evacuate.”
He lived in an area of western Altadena that received no evacuation orders until the day after the Eaton fire ignited.
Justin Chapman’s parents lived in the same area, and they initially stayed home because no evacuation order had been sent.
But with the blaze barreling down on their family home, they ultimately fled.
“If there had been even an evac warning west of Lake, I would have gone to the house Tuesday night, packed more stuff and made my parents leave,” he told Terry and Ian. “But because there wasn’t a warning, I went to sleep that night thinking our house would be OK.”
Community leaders want answers
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Altadena, is calling for an external review of the evacuation policies and alert system after The Times reported the delayed evacuation orders.
At a Town Council meeting this week, Barger told Altadena residents that a review of what occurred — and what may have gone wrong — is necessary. “We don’t have all the facts, but I think it’s important for us to find out lessons learned.”
Some community leaders have also raised concerns about equity in the delayed warnings as Western Altadena is more racially diverse than neighborhoods to the east, and is known for its rich Black history.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, said at a news conference Wednesday that officials “fumbled the ball badly” by not giving neighborhoods in western Altadena timely evacuation warnings.
“The fact is that parts of Altadena, predominantly white, they got the warning,” he said. “African Americans, again, got the short end of the stick.”
Fire chief says he’ll “own it” if the late evacuation order is a failure of his department
L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone told The Times that firefighters on the ground that night would have played no role in the decision of which neighborhoods received an evacuation order or warning.
“They did an amazing job that night. They put their lives on the line,” he said. Any issue with emergency evacuation alerts, “that’s going to rest at my level with my command … if it turns out we didn’t do something right, that’s with me.”
The week’s biggest stories
Trump visited Los Angeles as the region braces for weekend rain
- Trump surveys Pacific Palisades devastation: ‘It’s incredible. It’s really an incineration.’
- A weekend storm is expected to bring some relief for Southern California. Here’s what you need to know.
- Estimates of the total economic loss from the wildfires have ballooned to more than $250 billion, making them one of the most costly natural disasters in U.S. history.
- Meanwhile, Mayor Karen Bass said her brother lost his home in the Palisades fire.
A slimmed-down LAPD seems here to stay. What happens to crime with fewer cops?
- Department leaders expect to lose more than 150 officers in the coming fiscal year, leaving a force of about 8,620, which would be the lowest staffing level since 1995.
- Officials have long argued that 10,000 officers are needed to ensure public safety, but recent crime statistics indicate the city is becoming safer even as the department shrinks.
With an executive order, Trump casts doubt on the future of electric vehicles in California
- Buyers and sellers in the Golden State are watching warily as President Trump tries to dismantle Biden-era incentives that supported the electric vehicle industry.
- Trump signed an executive order that froze funding for charging infrastructure and abandoned Biden’s ambitious goal that EVs make up half of new cars sold in the U.S. by 2030.
Confusion and denial erupts at the border as a path to U.S. asylum shuts down
- Shortly after President Trump took office, his administration announced it was disabling a mobile app for asylum seekers and canceling all asylum appointments.
- Migrants have in effect become stranded in Mexico. Their advocates on both sides of the border are bracing for what they expect will be chaos as Trump orders mass deportations.
More big stories
- Marilyn Manson will not face criminal charges in rape and domestic violence cases, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said.
- UCLA threw its athletic department a $30-million lifeline, but the budget crisis deepens.
- California lawmakers are big on TikTok. What happens if Trump bans the app?
- AI might help the Beatles win their final Grammy and open the door for other veteran acts.
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This week’s must reads
Against all odds, Black residents built something remarkable in Altadena. Then the fire came.
“I’m nervous there’s not going to be a Black community in Altadena anymore,” said Nailah Tatum, whose family plans to rebuild. But they worry about developers buying out other Black residents.
More must reads
- A cease-fire in the Gaza Strip was widely welcomed, but it may not last. Here’s why.
- Columnist Mark Z. Barabak watched Trump’s inauguration with a Democrat and a Republican. Here’s what they saw.
- Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern wrote a letter to David Lynch: You wove L.A. into our dreams.
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected].
For your weekend
Going out
- 💈 In the wake of L.A.’s wildfires, Black hairstylists and barbers are providing free hair services.
- 🎶 Here’s a look at free concert tickets for people impacted by the wildfires.
- 🍿 Our film critic ranks all the best picture Oscar nominees from worst to best.
Staying in
- 🤝 Evacuated? Hosting someone who is? Try these nine tips for harmonious communal living.
- 🌌 Michelle Yeoh returns to the “Star Trek” multiverse with “Section 31.”
- 📚 A new Anne Frank biography takes a generous view of the liberties taken with her legacy.
- 🧑🍳 Here’s a recipe for caramel pear crisp.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.
How well did you follow the news this week? Take our quiz.
Changes at which recently revamped Disneyland attraction in Anaheim include a new candelabra-carrying bride in the attic and a gift shop called Madame Leota’s Somewhere Beyond? Plus nine other questions from our weekly news quiz.
Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Hunter Clauss, multiplatform editor
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
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