A delay in warning alerts during the Los Angeles wildfires may have led to the deaths of more than a dozen people.
Residents living in the west of Altadena, a neighborhood around 14 miles from downtown Los Angeles, only received evacuation orders eight hours after the deadly Eaton Fire began to rage on January 7, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Locals in the east were warned within an hour of the blaze starting and many managed to flee to safety.
But 17 people located west of the city received warnings too late to safely evacuate and tragically died – accounting for more than half the deaths from the the inferno.
Among them was 83-year-old grandmother Erliene Kelley, father and son Anthony and Justin Mitchell, and Victor Shaw, 66, who died while clutching a hose pipe.
The blaze tore through 14,000 acres and destroyed more than 6,000 homes and many more structures.
A formal evacuation order was not issued for west Altadena until 3.25am and the local ReadyLACounty X account did not share any alerts for residents west of the ciy.
Records indicate that the fire service received ten reports about homes on fire before the evacuation order was sent.
A delay in warning alerts during the Los Angeles wildfires may have led to the deaths of more than a dozen people
Juan and Lori Corral told the WSJ of their narrow escape from their home of 19 years where they raised their teenage children.
The blaze broke out around three miles from their home and they quickly lost power.
Even as Juan spotted the flames approaching, they had heard an evacuation order.
‘They’ll give us a notice when it’s time,’ he recalled reassuring his wife. However, with no alert forthcoming they decided to heed neighbors’ advice and pack up and flee at around 9.30pm.
While the Corrals made it out alive, the same cannot be said for others, many of whom were elderly or vulnerable and unable to evacuate at such short notice.
One woman told the WSJ that she lost her sister in the tragedy and was haunted by her final text message which reassured her she had checked every county website and ,’confirmed I am not in the evacuation zone’.
Of the 29 deaths recorded due to the Los Angeles wildfires, 17 were in Altadena.
One woman told the WSJ that she lost her sister in the tragedy and was haunted by her final text message which reassured her she had checked every county website and ,’confirmed I am not in the evacuation zone’.
Fire fighting efforts were also hampered by a lack of crucial equipment which was being serviced for maintenance, internal documents reviewed by the WSJ show.
Residents living in west Altadena only received evacuation orders eight hours after the deadly Eaton Fire began to rage on January 7
All 17 deaths from the Eaton Fire, including that of Erliene Kelley, 83, (pictured) occurred west of Altadena
Half of the helicopters and almost a third of the departments large pumper engines were out of action at the time.
Heidi Oliva, a county fire department spokeswoman, denied that equipment issues affected its response but said that the department plans to assess its preparedness.
Oliva added the agency didn’t have equipment issues that affected its Jan. 7 response and planned to review every aspect of its preparation.
However she noted that an aircraft-replacement plan recommended in 2019 had been delayed due to the pandemic.
‘We faced dangerous and unprecedented conditions, and took the threat seriously as we mobilized all personnel and equipment at our disposal,’ Oliva said.
‘The department activated wildland firefighting crews, 900 additional fire personnel, an additional helicopter, extra engine companies and water tenders.’
The Los Angeles County Coordinated Joint Information Center said it cannot comment ‘on all factors leading to the tragic loss of life’ at this stage.
‘A comprehensive and accurate review will take months,’ the center said in a statement to WSJ.
Locals in the east of the city were warned within the hour and many managed to flee to safety
Victor Shaw, 66, died clutching a garden hose as the flames closed in on his home
Father and son Anthony Sr and Justin Mitchell also perished in the Eaton Fire
It added that the sheriff’s and fire departments worked together to identify the evacuation areas and issued warnings through the Office of Emergency Management
An independent review of the emergency-notification systems and evacuation procedures used during the fires has been commissioned by The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
