California Attorney General Rob Bonta claims “compelling evidence” has prompted him to launch an investigation into whether racial discrimination played a rolein the disastrous response to the Altadena Firethat killed 19 people last year.
Bonta’s office, however, declined to provide further details.
The state’schief law enforcement officialwill look into whether race, age or disability discrimination contributed to the emergency preparations and delayed response in the historically black community of West Altadena.
“Today, the California Department of Justice formally announces an investigation into the emergency response during the 2025 Eaton Fire,” Bonta said Thursday.
“Specifically, we’ll be looking at whether the systems and structures at play contributed to a delay in the County’s evacuation notice and possible disparities in emergency response in West Altadena.”
He added, “The West Altadena community rang the alarm and brought compelling evidence to the attention of my office,” he added.
“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.”
TheLos Angeles Timesreported that West Altadena “received delayed evacuation alerts” hours after the fire started.
Bonta said the community of West Altadena deserves answers and institutions they can trust.
“We must let the facts uncovered by our investigation determine what went wrong here,” the AG said. “As the People’s Attorney, I and the entirety of the California Department of Justice work for the People. I thank the communities that reached out, spoke up, and organized during a time of immense grief, loss, and rebuilding.”
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
