Emergency management officials not to blame for west Altadena alert failures, sources say
The Los Angeles County emergency management officials responsible for sending evacuation alerts were not instructed to notify west Altadena residents until long after the Eaton fire had barreled into the area, according to two county officials not authorized to speak publicly. County fire or sheriff’s officials appear to have failed to set the alerts in motion, leaving many west Altadena residents to flee as flames and terrifying swirls of embers closed in around them. West Altadena residents reported seeing L.A. County sheriff’s deputies drive down some streets with loudspeakers urging people to flee around 2 a.m. — more than an hour before the 3:30 a.m. alert was issued. However, radio traffic indicates that some county fire officials were aware by midnight that the fire had spread west of Lake Avenue, deepening questions about why they waited so long to order evacuation alerts.
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