More than a year after deadly wildfires swept through Los Angeles communities, California launched an investigation on Thursday, February 12, into claims of delays in issuing warnings to historically Black neighborhoods, which could have increased the death toll.
Flames that tore through the city of Altadena in January 2025 killed 19 people, the majority of them on Altadena’s west side – home to a large African-American community. Evacuation orders there were much slower than on the east side, where most residents are white.
“My office will be investigating whether there was race, age, or disability discrimination in the emergency response in West Altadena, which claimed the lives of at least 19 people,” California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta said.
“We know that evacuation warnings for the historically Black neighborhood of West Altadena came many hours after these same warnings were sent to the rest of Altadena. We must let the facts uncovered by our investigation determine what went wrong here.”