Inside the extraordinary rewrite of the Palisades Fire report

The California Post has obtained the first draft of the Palisades After-Action Fire Report — before it was quietly altered and released to the public.

Newly uncovered edits show sweeping changes to the 92-page document that was meant to deliver a warts-and-all account of the disaster, putting more pressure on Mayor Karen Bass to explain whether her office played a role in softening the language to blunt criticism of the city’s response to a fire that killed at least 31 people and destroyed more than 16,000 structures.

Mayor Bass has insisted she only reviewed an early draft and asked the Los Angeles Fire Department to ensure accuracy on issues such as weather and budgeting. She claims that neither her or her staff made edits to the report.

At 92 pages, the original Palisades After-Action Review was 22 pages longer than the final version released in January, with chapter titles changed and contentious terms such as “wind” removed.

Notably, the executive summary of the draft states the report was prepared at the behest of the mayor’s office.

One of the most damning edits involves language acknowledging insufficient resources to “suppress a wind-driven vegetation fire,” with the department attempting to be “fiscally responsible by not fully augmenting and pre-deploying all available resources in preparation for a rare wind event.”

theeastsider.com

Mayor Karen Bass’ office Wednesday denied a published story that said she directed the watering down of an after-action report that detailed alleged failings of the Los Angeles Fire Department during last year’s deadly Palisades Fire. The Los Angeles Times, quoting “two sources with knowledge of Bass’ office,” reported Wednesday that after receiving an early draft of the after- action report, the mayor told then-interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva that the report could result in legal liabilities for those failures. The Times reported that Bass held onto the original draft until after changes were made. It was unclear whether Villanueva or other LAFD officials, or anyone in the mayor’s office, made “line-by-line edits” at Bass’ specific instructions or if they imposed changes after receiving a general direction from the mayor.

Bass had previously denied she was involved in softening the report. Then, in a statement Wednesday responding to The Times story, Bass’ office said the mayor and her staff made no changes to the drafts, and that Bass reviewed an early draft of the report and asked only that the LAFD make sure it was accurate on issues such as weather and budget. “The mayor has been clear about her concerns regarding pre-deployment and the LAFD’s response to the fire, which is why she called for an independent review of the Lachman Fire mop-up. There is absolutely no reason why she would request these details be altered or erased when she herself has been critical of the response to the fire — full stop,” according to the statement from the mayor’s office Wednesday.

“This is muckraking journalism at its lowest form. It is dangerous and irresponsible for Los Angeles Times reporters to rely on third-hand unsourced information to make unsubstantiated character attacks to advance a narrative that is false,” the statement continued.

Bass later spoke on KNX News to vehemently deny that she directed edits to the after-action report.”Absolutely false, 100%,” Bass said referring to The Times story. “Just think about it for a minute. I’m the one who ordered the after-action report when the fire chief would not do it. I fired her. Why would I water down a report that essentially presented the information for why I fired her? That makes sense.” Bass removed then-LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley from her position, citing her failure to predeploy firefighters and fire trucks ahead of the Palisades Fire, among other issues. Crowley in turn sued the city and Bass, alleging that she had been defamed and retaliated against. Crowley also alleged negligence on the part of the city and Bass.

Clara Karger, a spokeswoman for Bass’ office, had previously said, “The report was written and edited by the Fire Department. We did not red- line, review every page or review every draft of the report.” Also Wednesday, former mayoral candidate Rick Caruso — who lost to Bass four years ago and announced recently he would not challenge her as she seeks a second term in June — blasted Bass on X following Wednesday’s Times story. “Today’s @latimes report is an absolute outrage,” Caruso posted on X. “Karen Bass actively covered up a report meant to examine the most significant disaster in Los Angeles history. When it comes to life safety matters, this is no longer a matter of making poor judgment, apologizing and moving forward. This is a complete loss of public trust and an intentional act of covering up the actions that led to people dying. Everyone should read this article and consider what action is warranted. She has completely failed us.”

Meanwhile, Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who represents Pacific Palisades and Malibu, sent a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom on Jan. 28, calling on him and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to fully investigate the true cause of the Palisades Fire. “The city’s diluted report has lost all credibility,” Horvath wrote on a social media.Horvath wrote in her letter that questions about the indicated cause still exist and deserve answers. “As Cal OES prepares its final `2025 Wildfires, Winds, and PSPS After Action Report’ (State AAR), you have a unique and critical opportunity to ensure accountability,” Horvath wrote in her letter,”I respectfully request that the state AAR include an investigation of the circumstances that led to the ignition of the Palisades Fire, including review of the federal government’s findings, and whether appropriately sufficient resources were deployed to fight these fires.”

In January, LAFD Chief Jaime Moore, who replaced Villanueva in November, acknowledged the after-action report was edited to reduce criticism of LAFD’s leadership.Moore previously said he ordered a separate independent investigation into the Lachman Fire — a holdover fire that later erupted into the Palisades Fire — to closely examine the department’s decisions and procedures and determine where improvements are needed.He formally asked the Fire Safety Research Institute to include the Lachman Fire as part of its broader analysis of last January’s fires. The institute conducted an independent analysis of the L.A. fires, as ordered by state leaders.

The Times first reported the after-action report was altered after reviewing seven drafts before the final report was issued on Oct. 8, 2025.Among the changes, according to The Times:

— LAFD officials removed language saying that the decision not to fully staff and pre-deploy all available crews and engines ahead of the historically strong winds that were forecast for the day of the fire “did not align” with the department’s procedures during red flag days, and said instead that the number of engine companies put in place “went above and beyond the standard LAFD pre-deployment matrix.”

— A section on “failures” was renamed “primary challenges.”

— An item saying that personnel violated national guidelines on how to avoid firefighter deaths and injuries was scratched.

— A passage alleging that some crews waited more than an hour for an assignment on the day of the fire was removed.

— An early passage containing the following language was removed: “If the Department had adequately augmented all available resources as done in years past in preparation for the weather event, the Department would have been required to recall members for all available positions unfilled by voluntary overtime, which would have allowed for all remaining resources to be staffed and available for augmentation, pre-deployment, and pre-positioning.” The final report said the LAFD “balanced fiscal responsibility with proper preparation for predicted weather and fire behavior by following the LAFD predeployment matrix.”

The fire erupted on Jan. 7, 2025, driven by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds. One of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles history, it burned 23,448 acres and destroyed much of the exclusive Pacific Palisades community, destroying about 6,800 structures and killing 12 people.

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