Days before Palisades inferno, firefighters were ordered to leave smoldering burn site

"Firefighters mopping up a small brush fire that authorities say reignited as the Palisades fire five days later were ordered to leave the original burn scene even though they complained the ground was still smoldering and rocks remained hot to the touch, according to firefighter text messages reviewed by The Times. To the firefighters' surprise, their battalion chief ordered them to roll up their hoses and pull out of the area on Jan. 2 - the day after the 8-acre blaze was declared contained - rather than stay and make sure there were no hidden embers that could spark a new fire, the text messages said."

"On the morning of Jan. 7, according to federal authorities, strong winds stoked the remnants of the New Year's Day blaze into the firestorm that killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes in Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Topanga. In one text message, a firefighter who was at the scene on Jan. 2 wrote that the battalion chief had been told it was a "bad idea" to leave the burn scar unprotected because of the visible signs of smoldering terrain. "And the rest is history," the firefighter wrote in recent weeks."

Firefighters reported smoldering ground and hot rocks while mopping up a small brush fire and were ordered to leave the scene on Jan. 2. The battalion chief directed crews to roll up hoses and withdraw the day after an 8-acre blaze was declared contained, rather than remain to check for hidden embers. On Jan. 7 strong winds rekindled underground burning in a canyon root system into a firestorm that killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes in Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Topanga. Federal investigators say the Lachman fire was deliberately set. Residents demand answers and accountability.

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