California officials are facing accusations that purposely withheld key text messages and emails from a judge regarding prior knowledge of lingering smoke and embers before the deadly Palisades Fire, which killed 12 people, scorched more than 23,000 acres, and destroyed roughly 6,800 structures.
A court ordered California State Parks in December to hand over all relevant emails and text messages connected to the case. Attorneys for fire victims now claim the agency withheld critical communications from discovery, reports NewsNation.
Thousands impacted by the January 2025 wildfire have filed lawsuits against both the city and the state, arguing that government agencies failed to completely extinguish an earlier blaze — the Lachman Fire — which they believe ultimately reignited and sparked the Palisades Fire. Authorities have said the Lachman Fire was intentionally set on Jan. 1, 2025.
Los Angeles Fire Department firefighter Scott Pike testified that he observed lingering heat and active embers at the site after crews believed the fire was out.
“I didn’t even want to use my gloved hand because it was hot,” Pike said. “So I just kicked it with my boot to kind of expose it. And there were red-hot coals that were still smoldering.”
During his deposition, Pike identified the exact area where he discovered the ash and embers. According to court filings, two California State Parks employees later photographed that same location after firefighters departed. When asked by a supervisor what they observed, one employee reportedly responded in a text: “I told her there was smoke, smoldering roots popping up here and there, and we had to take care of that.”
The location described in those texts reportedly matches the area where the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives later concluded the Palisades Fire ignited five days afterward. Plaintiffs allege the state also failed to disclose those photographs.
“To our shock, they were confirmations by these two people that they saw … smoldering roots and embers at the Lachman Fire burn scar on Jan. 2,” attorney Roger Behle said. “These were not innocuous text messages that they inadvertently failed to give to us. These were critical pieces of evidence.”
Behle further argued: “These are damning text messages that prove our case. It proves the state knew there were smoldering embers and a dangerous condition on its property in the days leading up to the Palisades Fire, and yet it did nothing.”
Testimony from firefighters also indicated that California State Parks employee John Ohta told crews the area would continue to be monitored for several days. Then, on Jan. 7 — only hours before the Palisades Fire erupted — another state parks employee reportedly texted coworkers: “Wow, the burn scar is doing its best Dust Bowl impression. Be safe out there.”
“And we say, ‘Until you know for certain whether it’s ash or smoke or something else, you go out and investigate it. It’s your obligation. When you see this, you’ve got to go out, call the LAFD back, call CAL FIRE out,’” Behle said.
“They don’t want us to see the evidence that proved our case against them. And these text messages proved there were things happening on their land in the days and even hours leading up to the Palisades Fire that, had they acted, the Palisades Fire would not have happened at all.”
In a statement provided to NewsNation, California State Parks said it “has and will continue to comply with all court orders surrounding discovery in this case.”