The announcement comes weeks after the California attorney general opened a civil rights probe into the county’s fire preparations and response, focusing on potential disparities in historically Black west Altadena. AdvertisementCrump said he suspected the investigation would find racism at the root of the botched response to the fire, which decimated west Altadena. “How do you fall asleep on one side of the community?” Zaire Calvin, who lost his sister in west Altadena, asked at Thursday’s news conference. AdvertisementCalifornia With Pacific Palisades in spotlight, Altadena fights for attention, post-fire justice West Altadena, a historically Black, working-class community, has often been overlooked in the aftermath of the L.A. fires. Nick Vaquero, the whistleblower who first spoke to LAist, confirmed to The Times several details about his complaint, which he submitted to county officials in October.

Source: Los Angeles Times March 15, 2026 01:01 UTC