Evacuation orders issued late in Altadena area, where Eaton fire deaths were concentrated

As the first embers of the Eaton Fire began to engulf homes in Pasadena and Altadena, Calif., this month, evacuation orders were issued within minutes. But one neighborhood wasn’t ordered to leave for hours, well after some homes had already caught fire.

The consequences appear to have been fatal.

According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, of the 17 people who died in that fire, all lived in an area west of Lake Avenue that was not ordered to evacuate until after 3 a.m. .

That was more than seven hours after other orders were sent to neighborhoods closest to where the fire started, and hours after firefighters received reports that homes in the area were burning. Even then, some people said they never heard authorities tell them they had to leave the country.

“The terrible loss of life in western Altadena concerns me deeply,” Kathryn Barger, county supervisor for the area, said in a statement Tuesday. “There must be a thorough review of the life-saving emergency notification actions that took place on the terrible evening the Eaton Fire broke out. »

Among the dead was Dalyce Curry, a 95-year-old resident who had been dropped off at her home around midnight by her granddaughter, who thought everything was fine. About three blocks away, Anthony Mitchell and his son Justin called for help to evacuate after 5 a.m. Both died when flames consumed their home.