An independent investigation commissioned by Gov. Gavin Newsom found failures in how Los Angeles city and county agencies planned for, communicated about and responded to the January 2025 fires. The fires killed 31 people and destroyed 16,000 structures.
The Fire Safety Research Institute at UL Research Institutes released the 724-page report Friday. It examined the conditions and decisions that shaped the fires and their effects on communities. The report found that the fires’ speed and scale outstripped assumptions behind California’s fire preparedness and response systems, despite state investments in those programs.
Among its findings, the report addressed the Los Angeles Fire Department’s response to warnings that the Lachman fire was still burning underground after firefighters contained it at Topanga State Park on Jan. 1, 2025. That fire later burned into the Palisades fire, the investigation found.
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