A newly compiled timeline of the wildfires devastating Los Angeles suggests the city’s fire department may have allowed a small blaze to gain a foothold and consume huge swaths of the city — and that the real problem may have started days before the blaze began.
The timeline, compiled by the Washington Post, suggests the Los Angeles Fire Department took at least 45 minutes to respond to reports of smoke in a wooded area near the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, and that by the time they arrived, flames had spread to over 10 acres.
From there it soon blossomed to 200 acres, as strong winds fueled the flames and sent embers flying as far as two miles away until nearly 30,000 acres were burning across the county.
And the fiasco may have started days earlier due to another mishap — a New Year’s Eve fire in the exact same area that was poorly extinguished, and smoldered in the woods for days before re-igniting, the Washington Post theorized based on a detailed analysis of satellite images, radio communications, photos, videos and witness interviews.
Jan. 1:
- Midnight: Firefighters respond to the Lachman Fire northeast of Pacific Palisades.
- 4:46 a.m.: Los Angeles Fire Department contains the fire after it burned 8 acres.
Jan. 7:
- 10:15 a.m.: Pacific Palisades homeowner resident Michel Valentine sees smoke near the site of the Lochman Fire. His wife calls 911 to report the fire, according to the Washington Post.
- 10:33 a.m.: Firefighters report seeing smoke and say they must divert resources from the two other ongoing fires, according to radio traffic.
- 10:45 a.m.: Valentine calls 911 again, but gets a busy signal, according to the Washington Post.
- 10:48 a.m.: Firefighters warn over radio communications that the fire is moving with the wind and has the potential to spread to 100 acres.
- 11 a.m.: The first firefighters arrive at the blaze.
- 11:28 a.m.: The fire grows to 200 acres, according to radio traffic.
- 11:30 – 11:45 a.m.: Valentine sees the first fire trucks arrive in his own neighborhood.
- 12:20 p.m.: The first evacuation orders go into effect in the Pacific Palisades.
- 1:40 p.m.: LA Fire Department reports the blaze is now around 300 acres and growing.
- 7:30 p.m.: Fire grows to nearly 3,000 acres.
- By 9:00 p.m.: The fire reaches the center of Pacific Palisades
