Independent report finds that Eaton Fire evacuation orders were not delayed

An independent report commissioned by the Los Angeles County Fire Department found that evacuation orders during the Eaton Fire were not delayed.

Conducted by Citygate Associates, LLC, the review examined the operational conditions and decision-making processes during the opening hours of the second-most destructive fire in California's history. LA County Fire said it "did not identify misconduct or delay in evacuation decision-making related to areas west of Lake Avenue."

"The Altadena community deserves transparency, which is why I initiated this independent investigation," said Fire Chief Anthony Marrone. "While the report provides an honest account of our operations, we recognize that no investigation can truly capture the horror and tragedy residents endured."

Survivors have criticized the emergency response to the Eaton Fire, with many Altadena-area residents saying they never received warnings at its onset, while others said they received notifications only after they were already preparing to leave or had already evacuated. Of the 19 people who died in the wildfire, 18 were found west of Lake Avenue. 

The Eaton Fire is the fifth deadliest wildfire in California history. 

"They don't want to be accountable for what's happened in this process, and we know that there's some accountability," said Altadena resident Shelene Hearing, who lost her home and business in the fire. "You can't take out a whole town without being accountable for something."

California Attorney General Rob Bonta launched a civil rights investigation into the emergency response in February 2026, following the criticism.

"There are concerning circumstances surrounding the Eaton Fire that have raised questions," Bonta said. "The biggest of which is that there was indisputably a delayed emergency notification and evacuation of West Altadena. We're here to ask why."

In its review, Citygate found that the LA County Fire's unified command used "strategies and tactics that had been successful in the past" after the historic Santa Ana wind storm grounded air support. It added that firefighters did not delay the evacuation orders for neighborhoods west of Lake Avenue. 

"Evacuation orders and warnings were issued ahead of the fire front and remained effective until 2:18 a.m.," Citygate wrote in the report. "At which point, Unified Command immediately initiated action to issue subsequent evacuation orders and warnings.  The evacuation orders for west of Lake Avenue were not delayed by Unified Command."

It added that evacuation orders were issued before the fire crossed west of Lake Avenue. 

"The main fire front crossed west of Lake Avenue into the area between Concha Street and East Las Flores Drive, at around 5:13 a.m. Evacuation orders for areas west of Lake had already been issued at 3:25 a.m.," the report said.

Citygate said "extreme conditions" made it impossible to stop the spread of the fire.

"The Eaton Fire evolved into a two-front fire," the report said. "On the western side, extreme conditions aligned – steep slopes, historic winds, and street/canyon alignment caused the fire to explode into older, densely built neighborhoods where stopping the fire spread was impossible."  

A previous report conducted by the McChrystal Group, commissioned by the LA County Board of Supervisors, found that the fire response was hampered by outdated policies and protocols, staffing shortages and resource constraints and an inability to share real-time information. 

"While frontline responders acted decisively and, in many cases, heroically, in the face of extraordinary conditions, the events underscored the need for clearer policies, stronger training, integrated tools, and improved public communication," the McChrystal Group report said.

Marrone said he plans to implement the lessons learned from the 2025 wildfires to better protect communities in the future. 

"My focus is to ensure that the lessons learned from the Eaton and Palisades Fires are turned into lasting changes that will better protect our residents and neighborhoods into the future," he said.

Since the Eaton Fire and subsequent after-action reports, LA County Fire said it plans to procure a new 911 dispatch system and has implemented new technology. They added that they are currently testing a real-time satellite imagery system to detect and track wildfires, even with aircraft grounded.