{"id":503691,"date":"2026-01-09T12:19:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T12:19:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/503691\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T12:19:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T12:19:16","slug":"west-altadena-calls-for-accountability-on-eaton-fire-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/503691\/","title":{"rendered":"West Altadena calls for accountability on Eaton fire anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The \u201cRising Together<\/a>\u201d float in Pasadena\u2019s Rose Parade was supposed to celebrate the resiliency of Los Angeles in the face of the unprecedented double disaster<\/a> that flattened thousands of homes and took 31 lives last January. <\/p>\n

But amid the float\u2019s proud phoenix and colorful California poppies, two frustrated fire survivors unfurled a surprise message<\/a>: \u201cAG Bonta, Altadena demands an investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

A parade worker quickly pulled down the sign, but the statement made its mark, cutting through conversations about recovery and progress with the gnawing questions that continue to haunt so many Eaton fire survivors:<\/p>\n

Why were timely evacuation alerts not issued<\/a> for west Altadena, which accounted for almost all of the Eaton fire deaths and experienced the most widespread devastation?<\/p>\n

Why were there almost no fire trucks<\/a> in west Altadena, known to be a historically Black, less affluent section of the unincorporated town? <\/p>\n

And why have repeated probes resulted in almost no answers<\/a>? No accountability<\/a>? <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is shameful that we have not yet seen any kind of serious undertaking of righting the wrongs that were committed in this fire,\u201d said Gina Clayton-Johnson, a lifelong Altadenan who helped unroll the sign on the Tournament of Roses float. \u201cWe have a responsibility to not let this kind of thing happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Two <\/p>\n

Jonathan Horton and Sara Alura were among those who gathered Wednesday at Fair Oaks Burger to mark the first anniversary of the January 2025 firestorm. <\/p>\n

(Carlin Stiehl \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

That feeling was only amplified this week as the community marked one year since the deadly blaze.<\/p>\n

At a memorial gathering Wednesday night, Clayton-Johnson urged her former \u2014 and, hopefully, future \u2014 neighbors to join the growing coalition calling on California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta to launch a full, independent investigation into the response to the fire that devastated their community, killing 19 and destroying more than 9,000 structures. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs a person who wants to return to this community but not be stupid to return … I want answers,\u201d Clayton-Johnson told a crowd gathered at Fair Oaks Burger, an Altadena staple that survived the firestorm. \u201cHow was it that this catastrophe happened in such a way that people died? … How was it that people were running from flames [and] did not get evacuation warnings?\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Gina <\/p>\n

Gina Clayton-Johnson, speaking Wednesday, says a community coalition wants to see California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta initiate a review of the fire response.<\/p>\n

(Carlin Stiehl \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

At media events and commemorations across the area marking the first anniversary of the fire, many survivors showed up in red shirts that bore Bonta\u2019s face and called on him to \u201cinvestigate the Eaton fire now!\u201d Several residents held signs that called out failures in the fire response: \u201cFlames spread fast. Warnings didn\u2019t.\u201d \u201cFire Dept failed Dena.\u201d \u201cEast Altadena got alerts. West Altadena got silence.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Times revealed last January that west Altadena never received evacuation warnings, and orders to evacuate came hours after flames and smoke threatened the community. All but one of the 19 who died in the Eaton fire were found in west Altadena, among them a 54-year-old woman whose family claimed she died because of the delayed evacuation alerts<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Although reporting revealed that the late evacuation alerts appear to have been the fault of officials at the L.A. County Fire Department<\/a>, the agency still hasn\u2019t explained what went wrong. In November the Fire Department said it would initiate a new independent investigation into the delayed evacuation alerts, but agency spokesperson Heidi Oliva declined to provide further information on that probe. <\/p>\n

\"Photographs <\/p>\n

The candlelight commemoration at Fair Oaks Burger honored the 19 victims of the Eaton fire.<\/p>\n

(Carlin Stiehl \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Bonta declined to \u201cconfirm or deny potential or ongoing investigations … to protect their integrity.\u201d The statement did, however, refer to an ongoing investigation of the fire response ordered by Gov. Gavin Newsom that is being completed by the independent nonprofit Fire Safety Research Institute. Its analysis isn\u2019t expected to be complete until midyear. <\/p>\n

Clayton-Johnson said the coalition \u2014 Altadena for Accountability<\/a>, made up of Black community leaders, west Altadena advocates, local nonprofits and concerned residents \u2014 is aware of the ongoing investigations and even prior reviews but hasn\u2019t found them to be adequate. Group members want to see Bonta\u2019s office take ownership of a review, as occurred in Hawaii after Maui\u2019s devastating Lahaina fire<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a structure for moments just like this, and a person whose responsibility it is to get to the bottom of failures by counties, failures by officials, civil rights violations,\u201d Clayton-Johnson said, referencing Bonta. \u201cIf he would hear us, then I think that we could move him, both his head and his heart, to do the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the neighborhood coalition has for months been \u201cpolitely, quietly, collaboratively\u201d reaching out to Bonta to meet with them but to no avail. Now they are losing patience. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just about Altadena,\u201d Clayton-Johnson said. \u201cWhat we know is that there will be more climate refugees in this state, there will be more disasters … and we all deserve safety in our homes. We deserve this fire to be properly dealt with [and] investigated.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sentiment resonated among west Altadenans. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Fire Department abandoned us,\u201d said Miguel Vidal, who like most in the crowd at Fair Oaks Burger had lost his home in the fire.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were our own alert system,\u201d another person said, shaking their head. <\/p>\n

Marialyce Pedersen walked around the parking lot spinning a weather vane on which she\u2019d fashioned a picture of L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone, calling for his resignation. She said his agency had \u201cno clue\u201d as to the wind direction on the night of the fire. <\/p>\n

Earlier in the night at a massive event commemorating the anniversary, L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Altadena, acknowledged the calls for accountability, telling the crowd of thousands that she supports transparency. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou have a right to know what happened,\u201d Barger said, though she didn\u2019t provide a clear path to those answers. <\/p>\n

\"People <\/p>\n

Members of the Altadena for Accountability coalition attend the event Wednesday at Fair Oaks Burger.<\/p>\n

(Carlin Stiehl \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

County officials this week highlighted<\/a> new processes and plans that they said would improve the work of its Office of Emergency Management and Fire and Sheriff\u2019s departments, including staffing increases and new technology. <\/p>\n

But those changes fall short because they don\u2019t address the specific issues west Altadena experienced, said Sylvie Andrews, a member of the Altadena for Accountability group. She said the pain continued to motivate her, recounting how a loved one barely escaped the fire because they never received an evacuation alert, and how she watched her beloved home burn \u2014 after surviving the initial night of the fire \u2014 without any available water or first responders to fight it. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhy the unequal response east and west of Lake [Avenue]?\u201d Andrews asked. \u201cWhy was it that this historically under-resourced area west of Lake continued to be under-resourced during an event like this?\u201d<\/p>\n

Most importantly she doesn\u2019t want any other neighborhood or family to experience what her community went through. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been fighting a battle for a year,\u201d Andrews said. \u201cIf we can\u2019t get clear answers about why were were abandoned the way that we were in the western part of Altadena \u2026 I don\u2019t think we will ever fully heal. We need honesty and clarity and transparency. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf somebody made the wrong decisions that night, if more than one group made the wrong decisions that night, we need to know about it,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s one of the only ways we will know that it won\u2019t happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

Attendees at a commemoration of the Eaton fire held Wednesday in the parking lot of the Grocery Outlet in Altadena sing \u201cLean on Me.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Carlin Stiehl \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

Many fire survivors have voiced the same concerns but say it\u2019s hard to join the fight with so many insurance, legal, housing and rebuilding issues already weighing on them, exhausting them.<\/p>\n

Araceli Cabrera said she still thinks about how she and her fianc\u00e9 barely escaped because they were waiting for an evacuation order. But joining meetings or speaking with public officials about it only increases her stress, she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re trying to show they care about us but they\u2019re not really taking the steps to help us,\u201d Cabrera said. \u201cThere\u2019s no accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anthony Mitchell Jr., whose disabled father and brother died in the fire waiting for first responders to help them evacuate<\/a>, said their family still is struggling with the losses \u2014 and the failures that led to their deaths. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe deserve to have emergency departments that work,\u201d said Mitchell, who lives in Bakersfield and worries this isn\u2019t an Altadena-specific issue. \u201cI don\u2019t think most of California has learned.\u201d<\/p>\n