LOS ANGELES - An after-action report on the Palisades Fire was released Wednesday by the Los Angeles Fire Department nine months after the start of the ninth-deadliest wildfire on record in California.

The report detailing the fire was released on the same day that authorities announced the arrest of a 29-year-old Florida man in connection with the wildfire.

After-action reports are usually commissioned to provide a comprehensive account of actions related to a fire, such as alerts, warnings, evacuations and responses by fire departments and law enforcement agencies. The reports also provide recommendations about policies and procedures to improve responses to future emergencies.

The report released Wednesday focuses on the fire department's response in the first 36 hours of the wildfire.

"Our firefighters were courageous and did a phenomenal job," Interim LAFD Chief Ronnie Villanueva said in an interview Wednesday afternoon about the report. "The response that we had was unheard of.

"The firefighters saved one out of every two homes. There were 33,000 people who were evacuated. Saving the lives. That's what's important. Were there challenges? Absolutely. The intensity of the fire, the wind that day, those are things that are unheard of, and they were all in alignment that day."

Villanueva said the report indicated a need to look at public safety notifications and how they are sent to the public more quickly. He also said the department will examine ways to improve training with lesson learned from the Palisades Fire response.

"What we take out of this is how we prepare for the next one," he said.

The report also looked at vegetation in the region along LA County's coast, fire history, climate and weather influences and other factors.

Story Date: October 14, 2025