Los Angeles Mayor Ryan Bass on Friday called for a full investigation into revelations that firefighters are being ordered to leave fires days before they become restrictions. ”
In a letter to fire chief Ronnie Villanueva, the bass asked that he “thoroughly investigate” the report of illegal times in the bodies known as the Northern authorities. The previously undisclosed details have fueled fresh anger among those who lost their homes in the worst fire in the city’s history.
“A full understanding of the response to the Lachman Fire is critical to an accurate account of what happened during the wildfire,” Bass wrote.
Bass said in a statement late Thursday that he is “leading a series of changes” at the LAFD, including preemption policies, technology upgrades and increased training for all personnel.
His handling of the fire and its results are expected to be a key issue in next year’s mayoral race, with challenger Austin Beutner calling on him to provide a full-fledged religion.
The Times reported this week that the text was exchanged between the firefighters and Jan. The Lachman fire alerted the Battlor chief However, the crew was ordered to pack up and leave the area.
Federal investigators say the Lachman fire was intentionally set and burned underground in the Canon root system until the winds opened it up on Jan. 7.
In one of the documents reported at times, a firefighter who was at the scene on Jan. 2 we wrote that it is a “bad boss” to travel because of the visible signs of skiing the world that is afraid can start a new fire if left unprotected. “The rest is history,” said a firefighter quoted in recent weeks.
A second firefighter was told that tree stumps were still burning in the area when the packed group left, according to documents. And a third firefighter, said this month that angry members were upset when they were told to pack up and leave, but that they could not ignore the orders, according to the documents. The third firefighter wrote that he and his colleagues were there personally that the Jan 7 Fire was a revival of Jan. 1 Blaze.
The LAFD did not respond to questions about the Firefighters’ Extinguishment Account in written statements, but previously said officials were doing everything they could to make sure the Lachman fire was extinguished. They did not provide records of the movement of all Firefighting and work before Jan. 7
Beutner, who was named Los Angeles Unified Schools Superintendent, said the new data is indicative of bad leadership.
“Ordering firefighters on the job to leave something where they’re protesting? To me, that’s irresponsible,” he said. “But in the end, how much does Buck stand for this? … I’d like to hear from the Mayor. How did you tell. How did you learn?”
Firefighters’ accounts are accompanied by video recorded by a hiker above the Skull Rock Trailhead at about 11:30 a.m. on Jan. 2 – About 36 hours after the start of the Lachman fire – showing smoke rising from the dirt. “Still shaving,” Hiker said from behind the camera.
“This palisade fire was completely preventable,” said Randol Schoenberg, an attorney who lost his home in Malibu.
Schoenberg said the LAFD’s review of its actions so far ignores the missteps he believes deserve the most scrutiny: It wasn’t done between Jan. 1 and Jan. 7.
“There is nothing in the action report that will prevent this from happening again – Nothing,” he said, “says that this report examined the escape and communication problems during the fire. “The bottom line is that it wouldn’t have made a difference in this fire, and it won’t make a difference in the next fire if we let someone start this way.”
He added: “One thing they could do is stay on Jan. 1 fire, and make sure it didn’t rekindle…
Palisades Resinter Peter Villes said the feeding of Jan. 1 fire is “more than disappointing” and shows a lack of urgency in preventing major fires.
“It’s very frustrating that they haven’t given a straight account of how they allowed a small fire to stay alive for a week,” he said.
In a previous interview with Times, fire chief Ronnie Villanueva – who came out of retirement to lead the fire station in Lachman Fourle for armeter around the perimeter of the fire to be sure.
He said the firefighters returned on Jan.
Times Staff Writer David Zahniser contributed to this report.
