LAFD Chief Moore addresses lessons learned from Palisades Fire, challenging leadership decisions

Los Angeles City Fire Department Chief Jaime Moore spoke to the LAFD Board of Fire Commissioners on Tuesday, marking the anniversary of the Palisades Fires, saying it's the department's responsibility for how it prepares, deploys and adapts, and that its "future rests with me," he affirmed.

Moore began his comments with recognition and appreciation for the firefighters who battled January's Palisades Fire.

"Last January, our firefighters performed with courage, professionalism and commitment under extraordinary, dangerous conditions. They did their jobs, often at great personal risk, and they did not fail the city," Moore said.

"At the same time, there were clearly significant shortcomings in our response as a department." He called the Palisades and Lachman Fires defining moments for the department, exposing limitations and system capacity, including staffing availability challenges.

A little more than a month after the Palisades fire broke out, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass officially removed then-LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley from her post, citing staffing deficiencies under the chief's direction. "We know that 1,000 firefighters that could have been on duty on the morning the fires broke out were instead sent home on Chief Crowley's watch," Bass said at the time.

Following the placement of an interim chief, Moore was officially named the new LAFD chief in October, close to the same time it was also determined that the Jan. 1 Lachman Fire was the root cause of the Jan. 7 Palisades Fire.

Moore said that based on the information, conditions, and procedures in place at the time, fire companies believed that the 8-acre Lachman Fire was fully extinguished.

"However, the outcome has made it incredibly clear that our mop-up and verification process needed to be stronger," Moore said. "We have to own that. And I do."

As a result, department policy includes drone technology to enhance "post-suppression verification, situational awareness and detection of residual heat."

"Please understand the Palisades and Lochman Fires were defining moments for this department. They unfortunately exposed real limitations-limitations and system capacity during periods of extreme demand, including challenges related to staffing availability, resource placement, and the speed at which conditions can change during wind-driven fire events."

Moore was clear not to place blame on firefighters on the line, but rather challenged "leadership decisions, legacy systems and long-standing structural constraints that must evolve to meet today's risk environment."

He noted that the LAFD's comprehensive after-action report underwent multiple drafts that were edited "to soften language and reduce explicit criticism of department leadership in that final report."

The chief continued that under his leadership, nothing of the sort would happen again as he laid out changes made to the department already in effect.

• Updated mop-up and post-suppression verification procedures, including the use of drone technology and thermal imaging.
• Revised incident weather decision-making matrices to better anticipate fire behavior and deploy resources earlier and more strategically.
• Strengthen pre-deployment and recall procedures during high-risk weather
• Dispatch and communications upgrades to ensure appropriate resources are sent automatically during red-flag conditions.
• Improved evacuation coordination and training with law enforcement partners and emergency management partners.
• Expanded training focused on wildland/ urban interface operations and firefighter safety.

Chief Moore also noted the importance of outside review so as not to leave any stone unturned.

"I've directed a separate, independent investigation into the Lochman Fire to closely examine our decisions, our procedures, and where improvements are needed," Moore said. "That review is about learning -- it's not about assigning blame -- and ensuring our policies and practices reflect the realities of modern fire behavior."