Elected officials from Los Angeles County are seeking to remedy issues that contributed to delayed alert notifications and confusion over evacuation orders during the Eaton and Palisades wildfires that swept through Los Angeles County in January, after a report this week found a “series of weaknesses” in the county’s emergency-alert system.
It’s unclear how much money would be needed to make the various upgrades and investments called for in the report, or where the funding would come from.
But at a time when California, and Los Angeles in particular, has been in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump or Republicans in Congress, it raises the question of whether L.A. County can rely on federal support.
L.A. County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger, the lone Republican on the five-member board, “has deeply appreciated the support the Trump administration and FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) have already provided for debris removal and recovery, and she will continue to explore every avenue of support,” Barger’s spokesperson, Helen Chavez Garcia, wrote in an email on Friday, Sept. 26.
County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who represents residents who lost their homes in the Palisades fire, noted that recovery aid the county and state previously requested from the federal government still had not been provided.
Still, she said, “I remain hopeful that federal leaders will prioritize community safety and resilience.”
A response from the Trump administration on Friday suggested that federal support is far from certain.
“It should not be the role of the federal government or federal taxpayer to bail out poor decisions by substandard state and local government officials,” the Trump administration said in an email.
This isn’t the first time the Trump administration has raised the possibility of withholding federal support.
Soon after the January wildfires, Trump suggested withholding federal disaster aid unless California agreed to certain conditions, such as changing the state’s water management policies or requiring voter ID.
Then in June, Trump hinted that a feud with Gov. Gavin Newsom over mass federal immigration raids – and the use of military troops to protect federal buildings and agents as they carried out those enforcement actions – could impact additional wildfire aid to California.
Members of Congress representing Southern California, in the meantime, largely have agreed that disaster aid should not come with strings.
Every member of California’s congressional delegation, both Democrats and Republicans, signed a letter in March urging senior congressional leaders to support additional federal disaster aid for the victims of the January wildfires.
Measures recommended in this week’s after-action report to better prepare L.A. County for future wildfires included updating conflicting and outdated policies and protocols, improving emergency response training, increasing staff, updating obsolete communications systems and technology, and addressing resource constraints.
Shawn Tyrie, a partner and government president at McChrystal Group, the firm that produced the report, said L.A. County’s Office of Emergency Management had only 37 full-time employees for a county of 10 million people while New York City, with 8.5 million residents, had 200 staffers in its emergency department.
In addition, the report noted that law enforcement personnel reported inconsistent training regarding wildfire evacuations, and that equipment and personnel shortages were “magnified under the extreme conditions of this incident.”
Below are reactions from federally elected officials from L.A. County, in response to the findings and recommendations from the after-action report and concerns about funding.
– U.S. Senator Alex Padilla: “Long before the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires, we have known that improving coordination and increasing our response capability is needed to match the intensity and frequency of wildfires. That’s why I introduced bipartisan legislation to create a singular, whole-of-government wildfire intelligence center to foster cross-agency collaboration. As we rebuild our communities in a resilient manner, we must continue learning how we can better prepare for the unpredictable next tragedy — and I will continue working in Congress to make sure our local governments have the federal government as a real and steadfast partner in this goal.”
– U.S. Senator Adam Schiff’s office: “Senator Schiff and his team look forward to fully reviewing the report released by the county this week. Senator Schiff is committed to delivering the federal relief needed to help communities recover from the Eaton and Palisades fires, and working with all levels of government to ensure California is better protected against future disasters.”
– Rep. Judy Chu (represents Eaton fire victims): “I certainly would do what I can to make sure that Congress can help our local agencies keep people safe. And if that has to do with having modern communication systems and emergency management grants, then that is what we must do. I certainly would push for that. … There are needs all across this country including in North Carolina, Texas and California. It should not matter whether it’s a blue state or a red state. We should help all those who are at the lowest point of their lives due to a disaster.”
– Rep. Brad Sherman (represents Palisades fire victims): “The report is an opportunity to examine what improvements need to be made to improve coordination tools, strengthen training and provide clearer public communication in responding to disasters. We need additional resources to help individuals, businesses and the community to fully recover, and Los Angeles should receive additional federal resources to better protect the community in the future. I expect some resistance from Trump and Republicans who have increasingly tied disaster aid to unrelated policy conditions, but I’ll keep fighting to secure the funding our communities need without strings attached.”
Chavez Garcia, Barger’s spokesperson, said county departments already are working to implement several of the recommendations listed in the after-action report. For example, its fire department contracted for satellite-enabled hotspot tracking and the Sheriff’s Department launched a comprehensive evacuation tracking tool.
Barger plans to introduce a motion at Tuesday’s board meeting to direct county departments to identify potential funding sources to pay for other recommendations mentioned in the report, Chavez Garcia said.
“That discussion will help shape the path forward on implementing further improvements,” she said.