California launches civil rights investigation into mysterious Black Altadena exodus

More than a year after the devastating Eaton fire — and following months of mounting pressure from survivors — California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta opened a human rights investigation into the fire’s preparations and responses, including how discrepancies may have impacted west Altadena.

“My office will be investigating whether there is discrimination based on race, age, or disability in the emergency situation west of Altadena,” Bonta said in a statement Thursday. “Specifically, we will be looking at whether the programs and structures in place have contributed to the delay in the notification of the evacuation of the region and the possible imbalance in the response to emergencies.”

The investigation comes after a Times investigation found that west Altadena, a historically Black community, received late evacuation warnings and limited firefighting equipment as the fire grew out of control — especially compared to the unincorporated east side of the city. Fire damage was widespread west of Altadena, and at least 19 people died there — among them a 54-year-old woman whose family says she died because of delayed evacuation warnings.

Residents of Black Altadena suffered damage caused by the blaze, researchers found.

Those problems have fueled growing concern and anger in west Altadena, where residents — many of whom are still displaced — have continued to seek answers about failed evacuation warnings and separate utilities, with little success. Thursday’s announcement, however, brought a renewed sense of hope for accountability and oversight, to Altadena and other disadvantaged communities that may soon face climate-related emergencies.

“This investigation is expected to enforce greater equity in the distribution of emergency services during a disaster in all communities regardless of race, disability, or socioeconomic status,” a group of west Altadena residents, Altadena for Accountability, wrote in a news release. The group urged Bonta to launch the investigation, calling it Thursday “a step forward for human rights and environmental justice.”

At a news conference Thursday morning, Bonta specifically named the LA County Fire Department as the subject of the investigation.

He said the investigation “is driven by one serious question: did the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s delay in informing and evacuating the black community of West Altadena … violate state anti-discrimination and disability rights laws?”

The case will be investigating potential discrimination under the disparate impact theory, a legal strategy that does not require intent to prove that discrimination occurred. The theory was blocked last year from implementation at the federal level by President Trump.

Since Altadena is an unincorporated city, its emergency services are overseen by the LA County government, specifically the County Office of Emergency Management, as well as the fire and sheriff’s departments.

A spokesperson for the LA County Fire Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new investigation.

“There is a long history of marginalized communities receiving little support in times of crisis,” Shimica Gaskins, a fire survivor and group member, said in a statement. He called Bonta’s new civil rights investigation “the most important action taken by any California official to hold us accountable since the fires devastated Los Angeles.”

The Eaton fire destroyed more than 9,000 structures, mostly homes, across Altadena and parts of Pasadena and the Sierra Madre.

Although eastern Altadena was ordered to leave within an hour of the Eaton fire on Jan. 7, 2025, residents living west of Lake Avenue — the city’s unofficial dividing line — did not receive evacuation warnings for nearly nine hours. Evacuation warnings have not been issued in this area.

When the evacuation order was issued west of Altadena shortly before 3:30 a.m. on Jan. 8, smoke and flames had been engulfing the area for hours and several 911 calls had been reported. Many residents told The Times harrowing stories of narrowly escaping smoke-filled homes and rain-soaked streets. Almost all of them said there were no emergency vehicles nearby.

A Times analysis of fire truck locations in LA County found that most crews stayed east of Lake Avenue even as the fire moved from the west and some crews on the ground saw the west side of Lake Avenue engulfed in flames.

Some areas west of Altadena were not ordered to evacuate until 6 a.m., about 12 hours after the fire started.

The distinction between the two sections of the city is historically significant. West Altadena became one of LA’s first Black middle-class neighborhoods in the 1960s, in part because decades of racial segregation kept Black homebuyers from settling east of Lake Avenue.

Eastern Altadena remains whiter and wealthier than those areas to the west, according to US Census Bureau data.

The LA County Board of Supervisors last year ordered a review of its emergency alert system after delays in west Altadena and other problems, but that report mainly recommended improvements to the high-level system. However, the report detailed times when fire officials had the opportunity to issue immediate evacuation orders west of Altadena but failed to do so. The report did not explain what went wrong there.

The LA County Fire Department says it has opened its own investigation into the delayed evacuation warnings. But the agency’s spokesperson Heidi Oliva on Thursday will confirm that the investigation is still ongoing.

State-ordered investigations into both the Eaton and Palisades fires, conducted by the nonprofit Fire Safety Research Institute, are also ongoing and expected to be completed by mid-year.

The California state auditor also recently launched an independent review of the response efforts during the Eaton and Palisades fires.

It was unclear why Bonta and his office waited more than a year after the fire to open a human rights investigation, or whether that delay could affect the process or his results.

But it seems that the case was not opened without constant public pressure.

“The community of west Altadena raised the alarm and brought damning evidence to my office,” Bonta said in a statement. “Horrifyingly, we know that the warnings to evacuate the historic Black neighborhood west of Altadena came hours after these warnings were posted throughout Altadena.

“We have to let the facts revealed by our investigation determine what went wrong here, but one thing is certain: The people of west Altadena deserve answers to their questions and they deserve institutions that respond to their concerns, and institutions that they can trust moving forward,” he said.

Although the decision comes months after members of the public reached out to Bonta’s office — and more than a year after The Times first reported on the late eviction notices — many Altaden residents said they were happy to finally see progress.

“There is no other analysis or report that has done this investigation that will be done – only the Attorney General has the authority and power to apply to investigate whether our civil rights have been violated,” said Sylvie Andrews, a fire survivor and attorney in west Altadena, in a statement. “By launching this investigation, Attorney General Rob Bonta will be asking survivors, and anyone who may experience a future disaster in Los Angeles County, to be held accountable.”