One needn’t be a professional working in wildfire suppression to smell the BS in the responses of many who should have known how to do their job(s), and been willing to do them.
I think some of those involved are much better at CYA than firefighting, or leading firefighting teams - all of which is infuriating to this old man.**
I agree with all the comments here. Like I have mentioned before, it was widely known among fire service leaders this was a re kindle. The strategy of “how do we frame the start” took a while. Been in the wildland business a a long time before retirement and the “new” definitions of what a re kindle is from this fire are truly incredible. The arsonist deserves whatever comes to him but…there is a shared culpability to some extent.
Remember the political machine that LA is, tell people something often enough and long enough and it becomes magically true.
And the hits keep coming…
At this rate of passing the buck, the next powerline caused fire will probably be blamed on the linemen who installed it in an “unsafe area” even though according to approved plans. 
Pay wall to see story.
This ran yesterday… I’ve not (yet) found a copy of the letter that was sent by anonymous company/chief officers..
What a freaking mess…
More mess.
A federal grand jury subpoena has been served on the Los Angeles Fire Department for firefighters’ text messages and other communications about smoke or hot spots in the area of the Jan. 1 Lachman brushfire, which reignited six days later into the massive Palisades fire, according to an internal department memo.
The Times reported last week that a battalion chief ordered firefighters to pack up their hoses and leave the burn area the day after the Lachman fire, even though they complained that the ground was still smoldering and rocks were hot to the touch. In the memo, the department notified its employees of the subpoena, which it said was issued by the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.
“The subpoena seeks any and all communications, including text messages, related to reports of fire, smoke, or hotspots received between” 10 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and 10 a.m. on Jan. 7, said the memo, which was dated Tuesday.
A spokesperson with the U.S. attorney’s office declined to confirm that a subpoena was issued and otherwise did not comment. The memo did not include a copy of the subpoena.
The memo said the subpoena was issued in connection with an “ongoing criminal investigation” conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Last month, an ATF investigation led to the arrest of former Pacific Palisades resident Jonathan Rinderknecht, who was charged with deliberately setting the Jan. 1 fire shortly after midnight near a trailhead.
It is unclear from the memo whether the subpoena is directly related to the case against Rinderknecht, who has pleaded not guilty.
During the Rinderknecht investigation, ATF agents concluded that the fire smoldered and burned for days underground “within the root structure of dense vegetation,” until heavy winds caused it to spark the Palisades inferno, according to an affidavit attached to the criminal complaint against Rinderknecht.
The Palisades fire, the most destructive in the city’s history, killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes, businesses and other structures.
Last week, The Times cited text messages among firefighters in reporting that crews mopping up the Lachman fire had warned the battalion chief that remnants of the blaze were still smoldering.
The battalion chief listed as being on duty the day firefighters were ordered to leave the Lachman fire, Mario Garcia, has not responded to requests for comment.
In one text message, a firefighter who was at the scene on Jan. 2 wrote that the battalion chief had been told it was a “bad idea” to leave because of the visible signs of smoking terrain, which crews feared could start a new fire if left unprotected.
“And the rest is history,” the firefighter wrote in recent weeks.
A second firefighter was told that tree stumps were still hot at the location when the crew packed up and left, according to the texts. And a third firefighter said this month that crew members were upset when told to pack up and leave but that they could not ignore orders, according to the texts. The third firefighter also wrote that he and his colleagues knew immediately that the Palisades fire was a rekindle of the Jan. 1 blaze.
The Fire Department has not answered questions about the firefighter accounts in the text messages but has previously said that officials did everything they could to ensure that the Lachman fire was fully extinguished. The department has not provided dispatch records of all firefighting and mop-up activity before Jan. 7.
After The Times published the story, Mayor Karen Bass directed interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva to launch an investigation into the matter, while critics of her administration have asked for an independent inquiry.
The story is not loosing momentum..
The Algorithm brought this to my feed just now. Looks like it was put out by news nation 50 min ago or so.
Of course the drama just keeps getting deeper & deeper…
So a rep from the state park arrived and said where the dozers could and couldn’t work? This seems a bit reaching but a mess none the less.
Somebody is going to learn the hard way why lines on official maps and copies of legally binding agreements matter.
And…tell the truth. Denying it and redacting reports just makes it worse when the truth finally comes out. This WILL get uglier
Pretty soon they will make a mini series out of all this Drama!
The term “fustercluck” rings a bell…
In our present age of social media ubiquity information will not be suppressed well enough to hide sufficient detail that will raise BIGGER QUESTIONS. And then real investigation kicks in, whether from outside or inside “responsible” entities. If a organization like ProPublica gets on a case the target information will be discovered and exposed to the public.