The Los Angeles Fire Department admitted this week that its final report on one of the state’s most destructive wildfires was altered multiple times before release to the public and city leadership.
During a January 2026 Fire Commission meeting, LAFD Chief Jaime Moore confirmed that the report into the January 2025 Palisades Fire was repeatedly revised to reduce criticism of senior officials, and acknowledged the department had mishandled an earlier fire that eventually reignited to cause the disaster.
The original fire, dubbed the Lachman Fire, began on January 1, 2025, in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles. It was declared contained the same day, but smoldering roots under tree stumps went unchecked—only to rekindle six days later during high winds, sparking the Palisades Fire.
Fire Mishandling Led to Major Wildfire
According to Fox News, the second blaze, the Palisades Fire, torched roughly 7,000 structures and claimed 12 lives, placing it as the third most devastating wildfire in California history, according to Cal Fire officials. The LAFD later learned that heat remained in the underbrush and tree stumps at the original site.
Key missteps are also coming to light. On January 2, a day after firefighters declared the Lachman Fire contained, a battalion chief gave the directive to pull out hoses and leave the scene. Text messages later obtained by the LA Times revealed concern among firefighters that lingering heat remained at the site.
Criticism has focused heavily on whether department leadership allowed flawed procedures to go unchecked, and whether those same individuals tried to manage how blame would be placed in the resulting investigation.
Report Edited Before Public Release
According to Fire Chief Moore, the department’s final report was altered to soften the language about leadership decisions before he assumed his current role. “It is now clear that multiple drafts were edited to soften language and reduce explicit criticism of the department leadership in that final report,” Moore said.
He insisted, however, that the editing occurred before his appointment. “This editing occurred before I was appointed Fire Chief. And I can assure you that nothing of this sort will happen ever again while I am Fire Chief,” he stated at the meeting.
An anonymous letter, reported by KNBC in November 2025, was sent to Mayor Karen Bass and city councilmembers. The letter claimed that top fire officials involved in handling the fires were also directing the editing of the after-action report, creating what critics described as a conflict of interest.
LAFD Updates Procedures Amid Damage Control
Moore also acknowledged the department’s shortcomings in addressing the initial Lachman Fire. “At the time, fire companies were instructed to pick up hose. The department genuinely believed the fire was fully extinguished,” Moore said. “That was based on the information, condition, and procedures in place at that moment.”
The Fire Department has since implemented changes, apparently in response to public scrutiny and tragedy. Moore explained, “As a result, we’ve already changed our mop-up procedures, and we formally incorporated the use of the drone technology to enhance post suppression verification, situational awareness, and detection of residual heat.” In plain terms, changes came only after people's homes burned and lives were lost. Whether those changes represent true accountability—or just more optics—remains to be seen.
City Leadership Faces Calls for Oversight
The timing of the edits, coupled with the letter alleging those most responsible were also shaping the story, doesn’t sit well with the public—or with transparency advocates. When the people guarding the henhouse are also writing the rules, it’s fair to wonder if the city got the full truth.
So far, neither Mayor Bass nor the councilmembers named in the anonymous letter have made public statements in response. Silence may be politically expedient, but in a city paying the price of bad decisions, it’s hardly what residents deserve.
Los Angeles taxpayers—and especially those in the Pacific Palisades—are owed much more than internal word games and post-facto policy memos. Fire seasons aren’t getting easier, and the margin for bureaucratic self-preservation is wearing thin.
