(NewsNation) — Photographs obtained by NewsNation directly contradict California’s claims that the state was not involved in monitoring the fire that ultimately became the deadly Palisades blaze, adding to mounting questions about officials’ handling of the disaster.
The photo, taken at 2:43 p.m. on Jan. 1, shows a California State Parks representative speaking with a battalion chief and two other firefighters at the Lachman Fire burn scar — the same fire whose underground embers would reignite six days later to become the Palisades Fire that killed 12 people and destroyed 6,800 structures.
The image contradicts statements made by state attorneys in court, where they denied any state involvement in the fire response.
Photographs obtained by NewsNation directly contradict California’s claims that the state was not involved in monitoring the fire that ultimately became the deadly Palisades blaze, adding to mounting questions about officials’ handling of the disaster. Courtesy: Michael McNellis 
Photographs obtained by NewsNation directly contradict California’s claims that the state was not involved in monitoring the fire that ultimately became the deadly Palisades blaze, adding to mounting questions about officials’ handling of the disaster. Courtesy: Michael McNellis 
Photographs obtained by NewsNation directly contradict California’s claims that the state was not involved in monitoring the fire that ultimately became the deadly Palisades blaze, adding to mounting questions about officials’ handling of the disaster. Courtesy: Michael McNellis
“We brought up to the judge that we had received reports of a state park representative being on-site at the Lachman burn scar speaking with firefighters, and the state lawyer stood up and told the court this was the first he had heard of it, and he thought it was ridiculous. And that just didn’t happen,” said Roger Behle, an attorney representing three thousand Palisades Fire victims.
The photo is the latest piece of evidence challenging the state’s narrative about its role in the fire response.
A spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office previously told NewsNation: “The state didn’t start this fire (that was an arsonist) and the state wasn’t responsible for responding to or monitoring this fire.”
In court documents, the state also claimed it was not notified of the fire. However, Los Angeles Fire Department call logs obtained by NewsNation show the state was notified and sent a parks representative within hours of the Lachman Fire starting in the early morning of Jan. 1.
Behle said documents show a state parks representative returned to the burn scar the next day and told firefighters they could not bulldoze the area.
“The state’s narrative that they had nothing to do with it, and it’s some other agency’s fault, it’s their responsibility, it’s not ours, flies in the face of the evidence,” Behle told NewsNation. “The state was deeply involved in what was done at the Lachman Fire burn site, as evidenced by the photographs and the documents that we’ve obtained.”
The revelations add to a series of missteps that have emerged in recent weeks.
Text messages showed firefighters warned it was “a bad idea” to leave the smoldering fire on Jan. 2 but were ordered to pack up anyway. Video from hikers showed the fire still smoldering days later, with 911 calls about smoke going unanswered.
Newsom initially said he predeployed fire trucks to Southern California, but Cal FIRE later said it did not predeploy a single truck to the Palisades.
Mayor Karen Bass has requested a thorough investigation into the Lachman Fire response.