The Window to Shape LA County’s Fire Recovery Review Closes Thursday

The first county review asked why the warnings came too late. The second is asking what happened after the fire went through.

Los Angeles County’s public survey on Eaton and Palisades Fire recovery closes Thursday, April 24 — the final opportunity for Altadena and Pasadena-area residents to formally document their experience of the county’s post-fire operations and contribute to an independent review that, according to the county, will inform reforms to how LA County handles disaster recovery in the future.

The survey is part of a second after-action review being conducted by the McChrystal Group, the same private consulting firm that the LA County Board of Supervisors hired in February 2025 to independently evaluate the county’s response to the January 2025 fires. Where the first review — released in September 2025 — examined alert notification systems and evacuation policies, this one focuses on what came after: whether county services reached those who needed them, whether repopulation guidance was clear, and whether the systems deployed during recovery actually worked.

That first review found no “single point of failure” but identified what it described as a pattern of “outdated policies, inconsistent practices and communications vulnerabilities” across county emergency operations. Eighteen of the 19 people confirmed dead in the Eaton Fire lived west of Lake Avenue — in the part of Altadena that did not receive evacuation orders until after 3 a.m. on January 8, more than nine hours after the fire ignited in Eaton Canyon on the evening of January 7, 2025.

The survey launched March 11, 2026. According to the county, it takes less than 10 minutes to complete, and responses are anonymized and used solely to improve county disaster recovery and repopulation operations. It is open to residents who evacuated, experienced property damage, used disaster shelters, accessed debris removal or recovery services, sought information about someone in county custody, were unhoused when the fires began, or attempted to volunteer or donate. Those who were not directly impacted are also invited to share observations about the county’s response.

The Eaton Fire burned 14,021 acres and destroyed 9,414 structures in Altadena and surrounding communities, including parts of Pasadena. The Palisades Fire burned 23,448 acres and destroyed 6,837 more. Together, according to the McChrystal Group’s first review, the two fires resulted in 31 deaths and the destruction of more than 16,000 structures — making them among the deadliest and most destructive wildfires on record in California.

The second McChrystal Group review has a projected nine-month timeline, according to the county. The survey’s April 24 deadline arrives as a separate California State Auditor investigation — ordered by Assemblymember John Harabedian (D-Pasadena), chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee — is also examining emergency preparedness and response across all agencies involved in the January 2025 fires.

The McChrystal Group conducted 147 interviews and six community listening sessions for its first review. The team leading the county’s engagement is headed by Shandi Treloar, principal, and Erin Sutton, partner. The firm is led by retired four-star General Stanley McChrystal, former commander of the U.S. military’s Joint Special Operations Command. The board originally ordered the review on January 28, 2025. County Counsel has declined to release draft versions of the first report, citing attorney-client and work-product privilege, according to Pasadena Now.

Residents can complete the survey at recovery.lacounty.gov/survey. For information on the prior after-action reviews, visit lacounty.gov/aar.

When the first report was released in September 2025, Rep. Judy Chu, whose congressional district includes Pasadena and the Eaton Fire impact area, called it “disturbing, raising more questions than it answers.” The report, she said, “still does not explain why critical evacuation orders for west Altadena were delayed for hours, even after 911 calls confirmed fire in the area.”