Report Cites Outdated Policies, Communication Failures as Key Obstacles

Los Angeles County’s handling of evacuation alerts during January’s devastating wildfires showed significant gaps in policies and communication, according to an independent review released this week.

The McChrystal Group, commissioned by the Board of Supervisors, analyzed how officials responded as multiple wildfires swept through communities from Altadena to Pacific Palisades, fueled by hurricane-force winds. Those winds not only intensified the fires but also grounded firefighting aircraft and made nighttime aerial surveillance impossible on Jan. 7, a critical point in the emergency.

“While frontline responders acted decisively and, in many cases, heroically, in the face of extraordinary conditions, the events und

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