Los Angeles county fire officials did not discriminate based on race or socioeconomic status and did not delay evacuation orders during last year's deadly Eaton fire in Altadena, consulting firm Citygate Associates announced Monday in a report that landmines of controversy likely await.

At the behest of the county and its fire department, Citygate investigated how evacuation alerts were deployed last January after emergency response officials came under fierce scrutiny for reported delays. The Eaton blaze began on the evening of 7 January 2025, ultimately ravaging more than 9,000 buildings and killing 19 people in the San Gabriel Mountains' foothill communities.

Citygate's report noted that fire officials were often blind to the “atypical” blaze's progression, citing grounded aircraft operations due to high winds. Warnings and orders were issued as officials became aware of the fire's spread into north-western Altadena. The individuals who perished mostly lived west of Lake Avenue, a major north-south thoroughfare, in a historic African American, middle-class enclave.

According to some media reports, residents in west Altadena received evacuation orders nearly 10 hours later than their counterparts to the east, sparking outcry and a civil rights investigation by California attorney general Rob Bonta in February. Fire chief Anthony Marrone defended the independent investigation: “The Altadena community deserves transparency... While the report provides an honest account of our operations, we recognize that no investigation can truly capture the horror and tragedy residents endured.”

Citygate attributed evacuation delays to planners relying on major streets like Lake Avenue as anchors for evacuation zones, and the fire department's resources being stretched thin by a rapidly expanding fire that same day in Pacific Palisades, 34 miles to the west. The advocacy group Altadena for Accountability panned the report as “pages of deflection,” criticizing its emphasis on “department insiders” over resident experiences. “Fires and emergencies rarely come without chaos. First responders have a duty to treat communities equitably,” the group said, adding that “the complexity of the fire is not an excuse.”