911 logs show that dozens of calls about the Eaton Fire poured in hours before people in west Altadena received evacuation alerts.
According to the Los Angeles Times, dispatchers received at least 14 reports of fire in the area before the first evacuation order was issued at 3:25 a.m. on Jan. 7. Some of the calls reported flames on the same blocks where residents were later found dead.
A couple who escaped their Altadena home around 3 a.m. told KNX News’ Nataly Tavidian they only knew to evacuate because they saw smoke creeping into their house.
“My daughter was getting up as well and she was like, 'I think there's smoke in my room,’” the woman said. “We were all like in a haze, just grabbed the bag, grabbed our animals, and left. But around that time when we were already up getting things together, then we got the notification.”
She said she didn’t hear officials with megaphones warning residents to evacuate.
Others left much earlier despite the lack of evacuation alerts. One woman said she left at 6:30 p.m. because a neighbor told her she should leave.
“My neighbor called me and said there were fires nearby. I had no clue,” she said.
The city of Pasadena reports that more than 1,400 fire-related calls came in between 6 p.m. on Jan. 6 and midnight on Jan. 7.
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The Eaton Fire destroyed more than 9,000 buildings and killed at least 18 people, with the latest human remains found earlier this month. It was the fifth-deadliest and second-most destructive wildfire in California history.
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