California withheld Palisades Fire text messages, lawsuit alleges
(NewsNation) — California accused of failing to turn over to judge text messages and emails regarding prior knowledge of smoke well before fatal incident Hedge Fire He was completely fired up, NewsNation has learned.
In December, a court ordered California State Parks to turn over all text messages and emails. However, the agency allegedly did not do this and left them out of the case.
Thousands of victims of the January 2025 fire are suing the city and state, alleging the government failed to fully extinguish an earlier blaze that led to the Palisades Fire. Plaintiffs say the Lachman Fire, which authorities say was started intentionally on Jan. 1, 2025, was not fully extinguished by crews.
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The fire killed 12 people, burned more than 23,000 acres, and destroyed approximately 6,800 buildings.
State Parks workers documented smoke and smoldering roots
Los Angeles Fire Department firefighter Scott Pike said he saw ash and smoldering embers in the area.
“I didn’t even want to use my gloved hand because it was hot,” Pike said. “So I kicked it with my boot to expose it. And there were still smoldering coals.”
In his statement, Pike marked the spot where he saw the ashes and embers. After the firefighters left, two California State Park employees took photos in the same area. Their manager asked employees what they saw that day and said in a text message: “I told him there was smoke, smoldering roots coming out here and there, and we had to take care of it.”
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What employees saw was the area where the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives determined five days later that the Palisades Fire started. The state is accused of not handing over the photos.
“Shockingly, these two individuals confirmed that they saw smoldering roots and embers in the Lachman Fire burn scar on January 2,” said attorney Roger Behle. “These weren’t harmless text messages that they accidentally didn’t give us. These were critical evidence.”
Behle added: “These are damning messages that prove our situation. It proves that in the days before the Palisades Fire, the state knew there were smoldering embers and a dangerous situation on its property, yet it did nothing.”
State Parks employee warned of conditions hours before fire started
Firefighters said state parks employee John Ohta assured them the team would patrol state land for several days. In a text message with colleagues on Jan. 7, hours before the fire started, a state park employee wrote: “Wow, the burn scar does the best Dust Bowl impression. Be safe out there.”
“And we say, ‘Go out and investigate until you’re sure if it’s ash or smoke or something else. That’s your responsibility. When you see that, you have to go out and call LAFD back, call CAL FIRE,'” Behle said.
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“They don’t want us to see the evidence that proves our case against them. And these messages prove that things happened on their land in the days and even hours leading up to the Palisades Fire, and that if they had taken action, the Palisades Fire would never have happened.”
In a statement to NewsNation, California State Parks said it “has and will continue to comply with all court orders regarding discovery in this case.”
The case will appear before a judge on May 20.
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