LA Fire Chief explains edits to Palisades fire after-action report ...Middle East

Los Angeles Fire Chief Jaime Moore said Monday that language in the Palisades fire after-action report was intentionally softened for public release, as internal evaluations were made available to the public for the first time.

In a one-on-one interview held days after the city marked the one-year anniversary of the deadly blaze, Moore said that since becoming fire chief in November, he reviewed multiple drafts of the report, and questioned why earlier, more candid language was revised before publication.

“I looked at the first draft, and I looked at the very final draft, and I really wanted to find out why did this happen,” Moore said. “Why would we try to mislead the public?”

Moore said earlier drafts of the report were more candid and critical, but that the language was later revised before publication because after-action reports are typically internal documents not intended for public consumption.

“I believe that those drafts occurred because they were trying to protect the reputation of certain individuals,” he said, “because when we do an after-action (report), since they don’t normally go out to the public, they’re very, very critical of our officers. They are very critical of the decisions that are made.”

The Palisades fire killed at least 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes, and has fueled lawsuits, investigations and ongoing criticism from residents and elected officials over whether leadership failures were downplayed. A recent flashpoint is the controversy surrounding the fire department’s after-action report, which has drawn scrutiny over how leadership decisions were characterized in the department’s official account.

Records obtained by the Los Angeles Times show earlier drafts used stronger language about staffing and command decisions. One draft said the department’s decision not to fully staff up and pre-deploy resources ahead of extreme wind forecasts did not comply with LAFD policy during red flag conditions—language that was later revised in the final report to describe pre-deployment efforts as going “above and beyond” standard practice.

The Times also reported that then-interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva told Fire Commission President Genethia Hudley Hayes that a working draft of the report had been sent to Mayor Karen Bass’ office for “refinements”. Bass has denied working with the Fire Department on changes to the report or requesting edits.

Moore publicly acknowledged the edits last week at a Fire Commission meeting, saying leadership missteps were identified during the department’s internal review. He said the language was revised before his appointment as fire chief and pledged that such changes would not occur under his leadership.

During the interview, Moore recognized the revisions reduced explicit criticism, but said he did not believe the intent was to mislead the public.

“Eventually it softened things up,” Moore said, “but I don’t believe that was their intent, because when you look at it, the facts are the facts…it doesn’t skirt the blame. It doesn’t skirt what we responded. It literally just uses a little different terminology.”

The chief also used the interview to defend command decisions made during the earlier Lachman fire, which investigators later determined sparked the Palisades blaze.

Moore said he stood by the incident commanders’ decision to leave the Lachman fire site days earlier, arguing that conditions at the time did not indicate the fire posed an ongoing threat.

According to Moore, crews believe the fire had been fully extinguished after follow-up checks found no active flames, even as high winds later reignited embers buried in the root system. He described the eventual eruption as an anomaly driven by extreme weather conditions rather than a failure to act.

“I truly believe that they thought they had the fire out,” he said. “This was an anomaly, something that doesn’t happen on a normal occasion.”

Moore said the department has since adjusted both its tactics and decision-making protocols for wildland fires, particularly in high fire severity zones.

Among the changes, the department has expanded its use of drones to monitor large brush fires, allowing crews to better detect lingering heat or embers that could reignite. While LAFD does not yet have a dedicated drone unit, Moore said drones are now recommended for fires larger than an acre and are being deployed more frequently when available.

The department has also revised its deployment decision matrix during red flag conditions, allowing for earlier and heavier pre-deployment of resources when extreme winds, low humidity and high temperatures converge. Recall procedures have been updated as well, Moore said, enabling the department to staff additional engines and personnel more quickly ahead of forecasted fire weather.

In addition, Moore said LAFD has strengthened coordination with the Los Angeles Police Department and the city’s Emergency Management Department around evacuations, including expanded use of the Watch Duty and Genasys Protect alerts to notify residents of evacuation warnings and orders in real time.

Beyond internal changes, Moore said the department has also sought outside review of both the Palisades fire and the earlier Lachman fire that preceded it.

Moore said he asked the Fire Safety Research Institute, which is conducting a state-commissioned review of last January’s fires, to incorporate the Lachman fire into its analysis of deployment and response. He also said the city has reached out to Critical Preparedness and Response Solutions, an outside company, to conduct a separate review, which will examine aspects of both fires.

Moore said he believes the department is better prepared today than it was a year ago, pointing to changes in deployment protocols, recall procedures and wildfire response tactics. Still, he said rebuilding trust–both within the community and with communities affected by wildfire — remains a central priority.

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