At least one Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) official knew firefighters were ordered to leave the Lachman Fire site, which burned just days before the Pacific Palisades blaze, according to the Los Angeles Times.
An anonymous source briefed on the matter in June confirmed to the Times that at least one LAFD official knew a battalion chief directed firefighters to pack up the second day after the Lachman Fire broke out, despite concerns from crews on the ground. The detail was left out of the department’s after-action report and never made public.
The LAFD did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
Roughly six days before the Pacific Palisades fire ignited, firefighters were deployed to extinguish the smaller Lachman Fire, which began Jan. 1. Text messages obtained by both former reality TV star Spencer Pratt and the Times showed firefighters had been told to leave the scene on Jan. 2, despite worries the fire could reignite.
When asked about the messages, the LAFD later told the Daily Caller News Foundation on Nov. 4 that the department is “not providing a comment on this topic.”
In a post on social media, Pratt shared a screenshot of a message from an alleged firefighter who said he was at the scene of the Lachman Fire when he was told to pack up on Jan. 2.
“There was several hot spots and it was definitely still smoldering. Tons of smoldering tree stumps still remained that needed to be dug out and water applied. I believe a hand crew needed to come in and mop up the whole area with water,” the message states.
According to the LAFD’s after-action report released in October, within the first 30 minutes of the Palisades Fire breaking out on Jan. 7, Fire Station 23 received a call from the on-duty captain stating, “The Lachman Fire started up again.”
A high-ranking fire official who does not work for the LAFD confirmed to the Times that LAFD Battalion Chief Nick Ferrari was informed in June that the department learned about firefighters being ordered to leave the Lachman burn site on Jan. 2.
Ferrari did not respond to the Times’ request for comment.
Officials arrested 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht on Oct. 8 in connection with the Pacific Palisades fire.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Central District of California, investigators determined the Palisades Fire was a continuation of the Lachman Fire, despite early claims from Democrats that the destruction was caused by climate change.
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