[Karah]

THE PALISADES FIRE IS NOW THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE FIRE EVER RECORDED IN LOS ANGELES.

AND AS FIREFIGHTERS CONTINUE TO BATTLE THE HISTORIC BLAZE –  AT ONLY 19 PERCENT CONTAINED AS OF WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON –

QUESTIONS OVER HOW THIS HAPPENED CONTINUE TO BE ASKED.

AND NOW –

ACCORDING TO LA FIRE OFFICIALS AND A REVIEW OF INTERNAL DOCUMENTS BY THE L-A TIMES –

THE FIRE DEPARTMENT **COULD HAVE DEPLOYED RESOURCES TO HIGH-RISK AREAS PRIOR TO THE FIRE BREAKING OUT.

SOMETHING OFFICIALS AND FORMER FIRE CHIEFS SAY WOULD HAVE BEEN WITHIN NORMAL PROTOCOL GIVEN THE WARNINGS OF HIGH WINDS AND EXTREME FIRE CONDITIONS PRIOR TO THE FIRE BREAKING OUT.

THE LA TIMES SAY SOME OF THOSE RESOURCES COULD HAVE INCLUDED POSITIONING ROUGHLY ONE THOUSAND FIREFIGHTERS AND MORE THAN 40 FIRE ENGINES IN AREAS OF HIGH RISK.

THE LA FIRE DEPARTMENT COMMANDERS DID DEPLOY A FRACTION OF THOSE RESOURCES TO THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY AND HOLLWOOD.

AND HOURS BEFORE THE PALISADES FIRE BROKE OUT –

OFFICIALS OPTED NOT TO ORDER FIREFIGHTERS TO STAY ON DUTY FOR A SECOND SHIFT AS WINDS WERE PICKING UP – WHICH WOULD HAVE DOUBLED PERSONNEL ON HAND – ACCORDING TO THE L-A TIMES REPORT.

THOSE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES WERE ONLY CALLED UP WHEN THE BLAZE WAS “ALREADY OUT OF CONTROL” ACCORDING TO FIRE OFFICIALS WHO SPOKE WITH THE NEWSPAPER.

Fire Chief Kristin Crowley defended the decision, saying resources had to be strategically managed to handle the city’s broader emergency needs, including 911 calls that doubled due to downed trees and power lines in the high winds. Crowley argued that the firefighting strategy was sound given the FIRE DEPARTMENT HAD A LOT OF GROUND TO COVER THAT DAY.

SO FIRE ENGINES SAT BACK AT THEIR STATIONS UNMANNED.

BUT WHEN THE PALISADES FIRE BROKE OUT – THOSE ENGINES WERE EVENTUALLY USED ON THE FRONT LINES.

FORMER LA FIRE BATTALION CHIEF RICK CRAWFORD – SAYS PRE-DEPLOYMENT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE RIGHT CALL.

SAYING THE CITY’S PLAN BEING USED NOW FOR THE FIRE – SHOULD HAVE BEEN USED BEFORE THE FIRE –

ADDING “ITS A KNOWN STAFFING TACTIC – A DEPLOYMENT MODEL.”

CRAWFORD SAYS IF ENGINES WOULD HAVE BEEN PRE-POSITIONED – 

THE PALISADES FIRE WOULD HAVE HAD A CHANCE TO HAVE BEEN CONTROLLED WHEN IT WAS STILL SMALL.

LA FIRE’S DEPUTY CHIEF “RICHARD FIELDS” BACKED CROWLEY – SAYING HINDSIGHT IS ALWAYS 20/20 –

AND HE DOESN’T BELIEVE ANY AMOUNT OF RESOURCES WOULD HAVE PREVENTED THE FIRE’S SPREAD.  

As the FIRE DEPARTMENT continues to assess its response, the decisions made before the fire have sparked debate over whether more could have been done to prevent the scale of destruction that followed.

FIRE OFFICIALS AREN’T THE ONLY ONES FACING SCRUTINY.

THE CITY’S MAYOR HAS BEEN CRITICIZED FOR BUDGET CUTS MADE WEEKS BEFORE THE FIRE.

AND L-A’S WATER DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN SUED BY PEOPLE WHO LOST THEIR HOMES AND BUSINESSES IN THE PALISADES FIRE – OVER EMPTY HYDRANTS AND RESERVOIR.

WE HAVE MORE DETAILS OVER THE ONGOING CRITICISM OFFICIALS IN LA ARE FACING –

YOU CAN FIND THOSE REPORTS BY LOGGING ONTO SAN DOT COM.

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