By Los Angeles County Politics (LACP)
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced yesterday a civil rights investigation into whether racial and disability discrimination contributed to delayed emergency warnings that left 18 residents of historically Black West Altadena dead during last year’s Eaton Fire.
The investigation comes one year after the January 7, 2025, blaze that killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,400 structures across 14,000 acres. Eighteen of those who died lived in West Altadena, with an average age of 77.
West Altadena received evacuation orders hours after the east side of town, and by midnight—roughly six hours after the fire ignited—none of the neighborhoods west of Lake Avenue had received evacuation warnings. Orders expanded significantly only after 3 a.m.
“The investigation we’ve launched is driven by one overarching question—did the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s delay in notifying and evacuating the historically Black West Altadena community during the Eaton Fire violate state anti-discrimination and disability rights laws?” said Bonta. “We don’t know the answer. We don’t know what this investigation will turn up, which is the whole point—to pursue the facts, uncover, reveal the facts and follow the facts.”
U.S. Rep. Judy Chu, whose district includes Altedena, has long called for such an investigation.
“That’s why I have long called for an independent investigation and for our local, state, and federal authorities to take all necessary steps to ensure that we will be prepared for the next disaster so such a failure never happens again,” Chu said in a statement. “I welcome Attorney General Bonta’s investigation into whether Western Altadenans’ civil rights were violated due to these astounding delays.”
LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Altadena and initiated an independent after-action review by the McChrystal Group, pledged full cooperation.
“If there were gaps, we must acknowledge them. If there were disparities, we must confront them. And if systems need to change, we must change them,” Barger said. “I stand ready to support the Attorney General’s efforts and remain committed to working collaboratively to ensure we learn from this tragedy.”
The McChrystal Group report, released in September, pointed to outdated policies, weaknesses and systemic vulnerabilities that hampered emergency notifications, but did not explain why West Altadena specifically received late warnings.
The California Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Enforcement Section will lead the investigation to determine whether systems and structures contributed to disparities in emergency response. Bonta said the investigation will focus primarily on the LA County Fire Department.
West Altadena resident Emeka Chkwurah, whose business on Lake Avenue was destroyed, said he never received an evacuation notice. “We just looked out and you see smoke coming, you see fire coming and by that time it’s too late. We were forced to flee,” he said.
Altadena for Accountability, a survivor group that campaigned for the investigation, called Bonta’s announcement “a trailblazing move” that will “enforce a high standard of equity in the dispensation of emergency services during a disaster for all communities regardless of race, disability, or socioeconomic status.”
