After 2025 LA County Fires, Review Finds No Recovery Plan and Calls for Reform

A second after-action review ordered by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors examined the response to the January 2025 Eaton and Palisades wildfires and determined that the county entered the disaster without an updated operational recovery plan, a repopulation decision framework, or a countywide volunteer and donations model. Conducted by the consulting firm McChrystal Group, the report praised frontline employees for delivering aid under pressure but noted that most actions relied on institutional memory rather than formal procedures.

It identified failures in evacuation alerts, fragmented communication to survivors, insufficient shelter staffing, and a lack of a coordinated model for vulnerable populations. Recommendations include updating the County Recovery Plan, creating a disaster-recovery center coordinator role, establishing a one-stop web portal, and improving data integration for at-risk residents. Supervisors Lindsay Horvath and Kathryn Barger pledged to assign responsibility, set timelines, and monitor implementation at the next board meeting. The review also referenced ongoing civil-rights investigations by the California attorney general into possible disparities in the fire response.