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LOS ANGELES () Eight months after a fire in the Pacific Palisades became California’s worst-ever wildfire, has exclusively obtained documents that show what attorneys call “massive failures” by state and local officials that may have contributed to the disaster’s devastating toll.
The January fire killed 12 people, destroyed 7,000 structures and caused an estimated $18-20 billion in insured losses alone. Now, internal records obtained by victims’ attorneys show a series of missteps before, during and after the blaze.
Michel Valentine, who witnessed the fire’s start Jan. 7, said he called 911, but waited for help that never came.
“I did not see any firefighters up there,” Valentine said. His home was among thousands destroyed and he has joined a lawsuit against the state, city and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
No predeployed resources went to Palisades despite recent brush fire
Attorney Roger Behle, representing more than 3,000 fire victims, said despite Gov. Gavin Newsom predeploying hand crews and 110 fire trucks to Southern California before the fire, none were sent to the Pacific Palisades, even though the area had experienced a brush fire five days earlier.
Documents show the Santa Ynez reservoir sat empty while LADWP failed to put the Palisades reservoir into service as planned.
On the day of the fire, LADWP acknowledged it should have shut off power to prevent spot fires from starting throughout the area, according to the records.
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FILE – Firefighters battle the Palisades Fire as it burns multiple structures in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File) -
Firefighters watch a helicopter drop water on the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon in Los Angeles, Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) -
FILE – A California Department of Corrections hand crew works containment lines ahead of the Palisades Fire, Jan. 14, 2025, in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File) -
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with California Governor Gavin Newsom as he speaks to the press upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, on January 24, 2025, to visit the region devastated by the Palisades and Eaton fires. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) -
FILE – Nancy Belanger pours water on a neighbor’s fire-ravaged property in the aftermath of the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong,File) -
FILE – A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire around a burned structure in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent, File) -
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 8: Flames from the Palisades Fire burn a building on Sunset Boulevard amid a powerful windstorm on January 8, 2025 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds, the Palisades Fire has grown to over 15,000 acres and 30,000 people have been ordered to evacuate while a second major fire continues to burn near Eaton Canyon in Altadena. (Photo by Apu Gomes/Getty Images) -
Kevin Marshall sifts through his mother’s fire-ravaged property in the the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)
“Had the power been turned off, those spot fires would have been avoided,” Behle said.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection confirmed to that none of their fire trucks were predeployed to the Palisades.
Technician allegedly altered records to cover delayed response time
The documents also show a technician who was supposed to shut off power to a substation didn’t arrive until much later in the day and was unable to complete the task because fire had reached the area.
Three weeks later, the same technician allegedly altered log records, changing his arrival time from 6 p.m. to 1:45 p.m., a difference of five and a half hours.
“This is just redefining incompetence,” Behle said. “This is what you’d expect to see in a third-world country. You don’t expect to see this in the United States or in the state of California.”
“Never in a million years would I have suspected that the city and the LADWP would seek to manufacture facts to fit their narrative in order to avoid liability,” Valentine said. “It’s absolutely disgusting.”
President Donald Trump addressed the fire response in the Oval Office, calling it “gross incompetence” and suggesting a congressional investigation.
“They had no water,” Trump said, claiming sprinkler systems failed because officials “send the water out to the Pacific Ocean.”
LADWP has not responded to requests for comment. A Senate investigation into the fire response is reportedly imminent.
