Report Blames Poor Communication for Deadly LA Area Fires
Left 67%
Center 33%
Right 0%
2 left · 1 center · 0 right
What happened
In January 2025, wind-driven wildfires in the Los Angeles area — including the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire — killed 31 people in Pacific Palisades and Altadena and destroyed more than 16,250 homes and commercial buildings. On Friday, UL Research Institutes, tasked by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, released a 724-page review of the response. The report found that 911 systems were overwhelmed, some firefighter units went untracked, agencies struggled to communicate across jurisdictions, and unified command was ineffective. It also found that the Los Angeles Fire Department did not fully extinguish an earlier burn, the Lachman Fire, which the report identified as the origin of the Palisades Fire. ULRI said extreme wind-driven fire behavior exceeded the capabilities of existing suppression systems.
Sourcing check · Partly on the record · 3 articles
1 of 3 articles cite a named source for the story. It was on the record from the first report.
What these terms mean and how they're counted
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- On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: UL Research Institutes (ULRI) and Derek Alconis
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- How it developed
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This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
ONE-SIDED THIS WEEK.
Only left-leaning outlets have covered this story in the last two days;
New York Post reported it on 2026-09-26.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Emergency communications during the Los Angeles fires failed so completely that 911 calls ran through a captain's personal cellphone, left-leaning coverage reports. Right-leaning outlets had not covered this as of publication, so those readers would not know the review exists. Left-leaning coverage also describes firefighter units going untracked and leadership that could not coordinate across jurisdictions. Readers of the silent side also miss the finding that the Palisades Fire grew after an earlier burn was not fully extinguished.
The longer left-leaning account leads with the assessment that it was "not an effective unified command." The New York Times gives the same review one sentence about a broader approach and never mentions the cellphone routing or the untracked crews.
Why did fire and police departments withhold dispatch records and evacuation plans that investigators had requested more than a year earlier?
Bottom line
Right-leaning outlets have not reported the 724-page review of the Los Angeles fires. NBC News says that review found authorities unprepared as the blazes spread.
The receipts — 5 facts one side's coverage lacks
- Police dispatchers had to temporarily route 911 calls through a single captain's personal cellphone.
- Researchers said the shortcomings outlined in the review did not drive the tragedy; extreme fire behavior made the homes themselves the fuel.
- The fires killed 31 people in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena communities.
- LAFD and LAPD did not provide records requested more than a year ago, including evacuation plans and Lachman Fire response files.
- LAFD said it accepts the findings on confirming a fire is out, tracking every unit, and carrying out evacuations with partners.
The Left View
NBC News and The New York Times framed the ULRI report as documenting poor preparation, communication breakdowns, and disorganized leadership. NBC News cited specific failures: dispatchers routing 911 calls through a captain’s personal cellphone, firefighter units going “dark,” crews taking cues from trusted captains rather than top leaders, and the absence of an effective unified command that hampered evacuations. Both outlets noted the report’s conclusion that no single decision caused the tragedy and that extreme weather made homes themselves the fuel. NBC News reported 175 findings and 266 recommendations, including satellite internet kits and training to use residential pool water; it also reported that LAFD and LAPD did not provide many records requested more than a year earlier. LAFD accepted the findings and cited subsequent changes; the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s office said it is updating a 38-year-old dispatch system and adding 80 dispatchers. NewsNation similarly reported disorganization and failure to extinguish an earlier fire among the causes identified.
Our Take (balanced)
The story is substantive: it rests on a 724-page ULRI report based on inspection of more than 900 burned structures, interviews with 200 residents and 295 personnel at 22 agencies, and review of 911 calls, radio traffic, dispatch data, and staffing plans. Named investigators presented specific, checkable claims; LAFD issued a statement accepting findings. Established: communications overload, loss of unit tracking, incomplete mop-up of the Lachman Fire as the Palisades origin, and ineffective unified command, as documented in the report. Incomplete: LAFD and LAPD did not provide requested records, including evacuation plans and Lachman Fire response files, leaving gaps the authors acknowledged. The alleged arson defendant’s first trial ended in a mistrial; a second trial is scheduled. No right-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch for release of withheld agency records, responses from LAPD and Los Angeles County Fire, implementation of the 266 recommendations, and the second Lachman Fire trial.
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