Damning Report Raises Questions About One Side of Los Angeles Neighborhood That Is Historically Black Receiving Evacuation Orders Nine Hours Late

Three weeks ago, the Eaton wildfire swept through Altadena, California, claiming lives and destroying 9,418 structures and decades of generational wealth in a historically Black community.

In the aftermath, grief is turning to fury as new information came to light in an investigative report by The Los Angeles Times. Records and radio logs show a dramatic difference in the timing of evacuations, with orders coming some nine hours late (or not at all) in the historically African-American areas that lie west of the main thoroughfare, North Lake Avenue.  

Information uncovered by the news outlet has many questioning the egregious lack of evacuation orders for Altadena’s western community. Of the 17 confirmed deaths reported as of January 25 in the Eaton Fire, all victims lived west of North Lake Avenue, and of those currently identified, seven were African-American.

The blaze erupted at 6:18 p.m. on Jan. 7 around electrical towers located in Altadena’s 198-acre Eaton Canyon nature preserve. Within an hour, evacuation warnings began to go out to residents east of the North Lake dividing line, the Times found.

While the fire tragically tore through entire blocks all night long, buffeted by hurricane-force winds, panicked residents fled for their lives — and the west side of Altadena waited for the word to leave. It didn’t come until 3:30 a.m. the next morning and, in some tragic cases, even later.

In an Instagram post, reporter Terry Castleman visited the burnt shell of a home in the “Calaveras zone,” half a block west of North Lake Avenue, that received zero evacuation orders until 6 a.m.

Outrage over the nonexistent alerts is spilling onto social media, as many people ask, “Why?”

“We KNOW why… the demographics west of lake are far different than those east of lake despite home values being relatively the same,” read one comment on the L.A. Times Instagram. “Most of the Black population (majority actually) is on the west side smh. They’ve been wanting to get those properties and views for years smh,” another chimed in.

“Lake is the divider between Black & white unfortunately 😢…..this nation won’t heal until it addresses its original sin!” exclaimed one person, followed by another concerning comment, “💔💔 Makes me believe that black neighborhoods were targeted! 😡”

Some pushed back on Black commenters, including one person who said, “Wind is not racist. lol! Initially, the fire was in the east, and the wind was blowing east. You wouldn’t evac ppl on the west in this situation. Once the winds shifted to the west they sent evac orders. Don’t be the cause of racism. Be better!”

“I love how white people try schooling black people on what racism is and what it looks like. If you knew anything about topography and Altadena you would know that evacuating the east and west at the same time was paramount because of the tendency of the Santa Ana’s to shift constantly. Be careful about telling black people to do better because you could [fathom] the 💩 I’ve dealt with at the hands of your community and I’m a college graduate with no criminal record. So YOU might want to do better ma’am,” read the response.

“Can we determine who exactly is responsible for evaluating where and how the fire was spreading and which areas got the evacuation warnings and orders? Because whoever had that job totally botched it and should be held accountable,” stated another.

After the Fair Housing Act of 1968 legally dismantled “red-lining” — the practice of denying home loans to African Americans to maintain segregation — many families settled in the western foothills of Altadena about 15 miles north of downtown.

Though it’s more integrated today, more Black residents still live west of North Lake Avenue than east. What’s more, 81.5 percent of the Black residents in the community own their homes, which is almost double the national average, according to The Associated Press.

Despite this, remnants of the old days remained — stoked by years of racial and economic inequality in Los Angeles.

Throughout the `70s, `80s, and beyond, real estate agents often viewed North Lake as the unofficial dividing line between white and Black, east and west, wealthy and working class, according to Altadena Heritage.

While this has decreased dramatically, the bizarre evacuation snafu brings up old wounds and raises suspicions.

“They say that there’s no divide, but there’s always a divide…. this is the divide😤” wrote one.