14-04-2025
Unanswered questions hang over the L.A.-area firestorms
Good morning. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
More than three months after the L.A.-area firestorms, many essential questions remain unanswered. Times reporters have been digging into them, including filing numerous public records requests. In some cases, officials have declined to provide the documents, citing ongoing investigations. Times reporters Terry Castleman, Rebecca Ellis, Grace Toohey, Matt Hamilton, Paige St. John, David Zahniser, Dakota Smith, Julia Wick, Paul Pringle, Alene Tchekmedyian and Richard Winton have been searching for answers. Here is a rundown of what we want to know:
Altadena Evacuations
It took nearly eight hours after the start of the Eaton fire for officials to issue evacuation orders for residents of western Altadena. By then, fire was already burning into the area. Seventeen people who died lived in this area west of Lake Avenue.
Empty Reservoir
The 117-million-gallon Santa Ynez Reservoir was empty, awaiting a repair to its cover, when the Palisades fire hit.
Bass out of town
Mayor Karen Bass was out of the country on a diplomatic trip to Ghana when the Palisades fire broke out.
LAFD deployment in Pacific Palisades
A Times investigation found that the Los Angeles Fire Department could have pre-deployed more engines and firefighters the morning of Jan. 7 amid dire wind forecasts. LAFD leaders say those resources either weren't available or were needed elsewhere.
Palisades fire's cause
The cause of the Palisades fire is still under investigation, and city officials decline to release many details about it.
Coachella's first weekend has come and gone
At a packed L.A. rally, Bernie Sanders says the U.S. is facing 'extraordinary danger'
California's demographic earthquake: Asian immigrants rise, Latinos decline in 'big shift'
What else is going on
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Ryan Fonseca, reporterAndrew Campa, Sunday reporterKevinisha Walker, multiplatform editorHunter Clauss, multiplatform editorChristian Orozco, assistant editorKarim Doumar, head of newsletters
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