As we approach three months since the devastating Los Angeles firestorm, media outlets, including KTLA, continue to face delays in our efforts to get answers about what happened and how to prevent a similar event in the future.
The Los Angeles Times reports that LAFD actions surrounding the Palisades Fire have been shrouded in secrecy as the city refuses to release records.
KTLA has been working on numerous other public records requests regarding the fires with LAFD, the L.A. Department of Water and Power, the Office of Emergency Management, members of the L.A. City Council, some L.A. County supervisors and others. All have open public records requests with KTLA regarding the fires and the response to the fires. Some requests have been open for weeks, and others have been delayed for months.
On Jan. 16, as neighborhoods still smoldered in the aftermath of the fires, KTLA reached out to LADWP requesting communications with CEO Janisse Quinones related to the fires and the lack of water in the Pacific Palisades, and repair records related to the Santa Ynez Reservoir, which we now know was empty of 117 million gallons of water.
On Feb. 24, LADWP said it had identified “responsive records” and assured KTLA we’d have those by March 20. That deadline came and went. DWP now says it intends to make records available by April 17.
Regarding L.A. County’s Office of Emergency Management, on Jan. 20, KTLA asked for any communications from Kevin McGowan, the director of the Office of Emergency Management, related to the Eaton Fire, Southern California Edison and the failed digital warnings to many residents.
On Feb. 13, the office cited unusual circumstances to search and collect those records and said a further response would be provided on or before March 13. A further response came, saying that the department needed more time and anticipated an update before April 14.
When questions surrounding the Palisades Fire turned to who knew what and when, KTLA requested communications with L.A. City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who was acting mayor when the Palisades Fire broke out since Mayor Bass was out of the country. Our request to Dawson’s office was submitted on Feb. 26. A response two weeks later acknowledged the request but said it was too complicated to complete in a short period of time.
On March 21, KTLA was told some records matched the request, which would be reviewed and provided no later than May 21—nearly three months after our request was submitted and a full four months after the fires.
KTLA also has open public records requests with LAFD, some of which have been closed—some without any responsive documents, some with heavily redacted documents and some remain open. We’ve reported on those previously:
- Deleted messages, disappearing chats, and a firestorm of L.A. controversy | KTLA
- Job concerns, media spin among texts to LAFD chief during wildfires | KTLA
- Flying into the firestorm: The fight to save the Palisades | KTLA
In the aftermath of the fires, the City of Los Angeles Emergency Management Department heard from KTLA as well. The response to our requests has included this: “We appreciate your patience as resources and personnel are stretched thin responding to an ongoing proclaimed emergency involving the unprecedented wildfire recovery.”
KTLA legal analyst Alison Triessl added, “Indeed, the January fires are widely considered the most serious natural emergency in Los Angeles County history. In the aftermath of such destruction and devastation, the public deserves to know how these fires started and if our governmental agencies contributed to or are to blame for their cause. There is no greater need for public trust and transparency than now.”
