State Launches Investigation Into Eaton Fire Emergency Response

The oaks and pines and Deodar Cedars that burned in Altadena a year ago are gone. So are 19 of the people who lived among them—most in the western part of the community, where evacuation alerts arrived hours after the Eaton Fire had already swept through.

Now, one year after the deadliest 24 hours in Altadena’s history, a state investigation has officially begun to determine what went wrong.

The audit, ordered in June by Assemblymember John Harabedian (D-Pasadena) in his capacity as Chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, started last week under the direction of the California State Auditor. It will examine emergency preparedness and response across all agencies involved before, during, and after the fire—including the delayed alerts that left western Altadena residents without warning while flames consumed their neighborhood.

“Survivors and loved ones still do not have answers about everything that went wrong that night,” Harabedian said. “This audit is a tool for justice.”

The Eaton Fire ignited on the evening of January 7 in Eaton Canyon. Driven by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds, it raced into Altadena and destroyed more than 9,400 structures in 24 days, making it the second most destructive wildfire in California history. The 19 deaths made it the fifth deadliest.

Eighteen of the 19 victims lived west of Lake Avenue—an area that, according to Harabedian, did not receive emergency evacuation orders until the fire had been burning for eight hours.

“By that time, at 3 or 4 in the morning, the fire was on the doorsteps for many of my neighbors,” Harabedian said. “Some of them didn’t make it out.”

The audit, designated 2025-114 by the State Auditor’s office, will scrutinize whether emergency plans were followed, whether evacuation notifications reached residents in time, whether adequate firefighting resources were available, and whether water systems and utility shutoffs functioned as intended. It covers both the Eaton Fire and the Palisades Fire, which burned simultaneously in the Santa Monica Mountains and killed 12 people.

Harabedian, whose 41st Assembly District includes Altadena, said the investigation is the only independent state review of both fires.

“This will be the only independent state agency reviewing what happened,” he said. “The state auditor is reviewing everything from prevention efforts to preparedness and obviously the response. We had 19 of our neighbors die, and that’s unacceptable.”

The audit comes amid other ongoing investigations. Cal Fire and the Los Angeles County Fire Department continue to investigate the fire’s cause, and the U.S. Department of Justice has sued Southern California Edison, alleging the utility’s equipment sparked the blaze. Edison International’s CEO has said the company’s equipment “likely” started the fire.

But while those investigations focus on ignition, the State Auditor’s review examines what happened after the fire began—the decisions, communications, and systems that determined whether residents had time to flee.

State officials said additional information on the audit’s progress will be released as it becomes available. The timeline for completion remains uncertain; Harabedian has said such audits can take months or, in complex cases, a year or more.

The findings, when released, will include recommendations but carry no enforcement authority. Whether they lead to systemic change will depend on the Legislature and the agencies under review.

“Recovery cannot rely solely on the courage of survivors,” Harabedian said. “Every family affected deserves answers, accountability, and a government that acts with transparency and integrity.”

For Altadena, the audit represents something more modest but no less necessary: a formal accounting of the night everything burned.