Firm finds LA county officials did not discriminate in response to Eaton fire

Altadena group pans report as ‘pages of deflection’ and cites reliance on ‘department insiders’ rather than residents

Los Angeles county fire officials did not discriminate on the basis of race or socioeconomic status and did not delay in their evacuation orders during last year’s deadly Eaton fire in Altadena, a consulting firm found on Monday.

At the behest of the county and its fire department, the California-based firm Citygate Associates conducted an investigation into how evacuation alerts were deployed last January, after emergency response officials came under fierce scrutiny for reported delays.