The fire is headed for West Altadena hours ahead of official accounts, a new report shows

The Eaton fire was headed toward West Altadena even earlier than previously believed, a federal fire department said this week, raising more questions about why it took LA County officials eager to put the order in place where 18 people died.

The fire broke out Jan. 7 at 6: 20 PM, he was targeted by a hurricane-force santa ana winds that drag the flames to high-speed roads. Within an hour, the County issued evacuation orders for several high-rise communities near the origin of the fire, including the east side of Altadena. But as The Times first reported in January, evacuation orders weren’t issued for West Altadena until after 3 a.m., after the fire had threatened the area. The local warming features are never out.

All but one of the Eaton Fire’s 19 deaths were from West Altadena.

The Fire Safety Report, released on Thursday morning, cannot analyze whether the warnings were delayed, but they provide a detailed timeline of the night that was the beginning of the Fire, including signs of the fire moving westward six hours before the area received any warning to evacuate.

The report notes that “the fire is spreading to the west” at the beginning of 9: 30 PM on Jan. 7, indicating several local fires from the west of the fire’s origin.

At 10: 22 PM, and for the next hour, there were many radio calls reporting that the fire was spreading to the west along North Lake Avenue, this report. Just before 11 p.m., as predicted, there were signs of flames in West Altadena — more than four hours before officials issued evacuation orders for the area.

The report says winds changed shortly after 11 p.m., “which could have helped spread the flames to the portion that reached Altadena and west of Altadena in the early hours of Jan. 8, 2025.”

Between 11: 18 PM and 12: 17 in the morning, the document identified at least 10 fire reports on the Western Flank of The Blaze, indicating in advance through Lange Avenue.

Why the County did not move to West Altadena In the past it has been a topic of great concern among residents, and a question that the county has never fully addressed.

The County’s report on the fire exit last month found that there was a recommendation to evacuate the Exporations spread to the west at midnight, but for unknown reasons it was not heeded. It would be another three hours before incident commanders would go for additional evacuation orders.

Although the new state report does not provide new information about the two compliments, it provides a new understanding of how quickly the fire moved, especially how the ember exploded in the Eathen fire in West Altadena, finally starting the community.

The much-anticipated national report is the first of two from the nonprofit research organization. It provides the most comprehensive examination of how fire officials responded to the Eaton and Palisades fires.

Although the document does not provide much analysis, focusing on the facts of the conditions, preparations and response, the findings were clear that “the ember cast contributed to the rapid expansion,” said one of the authors at a press conference on Wednesday, before the release of the report.

The delayed escape has led to the assessment of public officials and residents of Altadena by the management of the La County Fire department of the wind-driven Inferno.

Michael Gollner, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at UC Berkeley who leads its own fire research, said the line given in the report is an important point to understand what happens during a fire response.

But he noted that there was still little information on some important details: What was the chain of command on the first day of the Eaton fire? How is information shared? What other issues are departmental managers dealing with at the same time that would affect exit decisions?

“That’s what matters most, how that information was communicated and how much they knew about it [the fire] Golly said in this place, “says Golllner.” There is much more to come and much more that we need. ”

Some others have been released about the fires made by Los Angeles County and the city has met with criticism from residents for being limited in scale.

Last month, a report from Los Angeles County found that a general lack of planning, poor communication, and under-the-radar negotiations contributed to emergency fire orders as the Eaton fire ripped through Altadena. But the report was widely criticized for not answering key questions surrounding the evacuation failure, including why County officials didn’t send evacuation warnings in West Altadena until 3:25 a.m.

Details in the state report shed more light on what ultimately prompted County fire officials to expand the evacuation to include West Altadena.

At 10:50 PM, a resident called that a fire was visible in his home on East Calaveras Street in West Altadena. Almost exactly at rush hour, the Los Angeles County Batty Fire pulled from Glenrose Avenue and West Loma Alta Drive, all the way to West Altadena, according to the report.

Shortly before 2 a.m., the westbound officer headed to Lake Avenue at East Altadena drive, trying to get a good look at Oak Avenue in West Altadena “and found major conditions, the report said.

“He was unable to continue as he encountered zero visibility, extreme heat, and had serious problems with being trapped,” the report said.

At about the same time, County fire officials were protecting buildings on East Barve Curve Avenue near Lake Avenue. They were forced to leave after 30 minutes due to danger from the strange winds.

Despite all these signs of fire growth in West Altadena, it will be more than an hour before an evacuation order is issued.

Gov. Gavin Newsom commissioned the Fire Safety Research Center to investigate nearly a month after the Palisades and Eaton fires killed 31 people and destroyed 16,000 structures across Los Angeles County. Investigators and engineers from the Center – which also conducts post-event analysis of the situation in Hawaii after the Caliia fire from South23 – are sent to Southern California

Thursday’s report provides a timeline of how the fires developed and looks at the actions of state and local officials, weather conditions, emergency response and fire suppression. It also includes an update on other fires that occurred in southern California in the same month as the Eaton and Palisades fires.

The report continues to capture the chaos and poor condition of the Eaton Fire, driven by the wind. Not only is the fire moving earlier than previously reported, but it also spread at the same time, according to the report.

Shortly before 1 a.m., crews on different fire boundaries called for additional resources, calling for help east and west of the fire’s origin. The same account of the severity of the fire came from the law enforcement from 1: 13 to 3: 13 in the morning, they reported houses on fire in North Sierra Madre, and in West Altadena.

Ember cast turned what started as a wildfire into a full blown city. This may have made them more difficult to get out, experts say.

When fire officials check their exits, they often look at wind speed and direction, topography and fuel type to help guide them, said Matt Rahn, Mundland’s San Marcos founding director and director of wildfire research.

But in a fast moving area where the embers come out kilometers from the head of the fire and pay attention to the fires, “it is very difficult to evacuate the communities and predicted where to exit.

“If all of a sudden you have wildfires Start literally miles away from the fire itself, it creates a whole new challenge,” said Rahn. “You’re not worried about what’s happening here, you’re worried about other events that could grow into larger fires or, in the case of the Eaton fire, are more difficult to predict and more often predict the types of fires we’re experiencing.”

The second phase of the report, expected to be released in mid-2026, will use the information contained in the first report to provide an analysis of the efforts of officials to prevent fires and drugs. Reports will not be made on the cause of the fires.

Art Borterell, former senior emergency services coordinator for the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Management, said the timeline is a necessary first step. But while the time method can be useful, Bottertell says, it also has limitations.

Botterell said the sensitivity and diversity in local values, workforce development, and infrastructure development and maintenance can be difficult to see in a series of short icons.

“New data is always useful, but often blind spots lie in questions we don’t ask,” Botterell said. “A lot will depend on the depth, perspective and independence of the analysis that follows.”

Times Cast Wrint Jenny Jarvie contributed to this report.