Exclusive | Inside the extraordinary rewrite of the Palisades Fire report — read the draft the public never saw

The full extent of the Palisades Fire report cover-up has been revealed.

The California Post has obtained the first draft of the Palisades After-Action Fire Report — before it was quietly altered and released to the public.

Newly uncovered edits show sweeping changes to the 92-page document that was meant to deliver a warts-and-all account of the disaster, putting more pressure on Mayor Karen Bass to explain whether her office played a role in softening the language to blunt criticism of the city’s response to a fire that killed at least 31 people and destroyed more than 16,000 structures.

Mayor Bass has insisted she only reviewed an early draft and asked the Los Angeles Fire Department to ensure accuracy on issues such as weather and budgeting. She claims that neither her or her staff made edits to the report.

At 92 pages, the original Palisades After-Action Review was 22 pages longer than the final version released in January, with chapter titles changed and contentious terms such as “wind” removed.

Notably, the executive summary of the draft states the report was prepared at the behest of the mayor’s office.

That reference is removed entirely from the final document.

One of the most damning edits involves language acknowledging insufficient resources to “suppress a wind-driven vegetation fire,” with the department attempting to be “fiscally responsible by not fully augmenting and pre-deploying all available resources in preparation for a rare wind event.”

By contrast, the final report claims the LAFD ”balanced fiscal responsibility with proper preparation by following its pre-deployment matrix.”

According to the draft, “If the Department had adequately augmented all available resources as done in years past in preparation for the weather event, there would have been a recall of members for all available positions.”

In the revised version, that language is softened and responsibility is shifted downward to frontline firefighters. “The initial response dispatched to the Palisades incident lacked the appropriate resources for the weather conditions typically associated with red flag conditions the department would normally respond with,” the final report states.

Draft language also noted that crews arriving on the scene “lacked clarity regarding the communication protocol.”

Once again, the final report revises that assessment, placing blame on firefighters by stating that “most did not communicate their needs.”

Additional edits include changing a section title near the beginning of the report from “challenges” to “successes.”

Repeated references to “wind” and “wind event” appear throughout the draft but are removed in the final report. One striking example is language stating that firefighting helicopters could not be deployed due to high winds.

That explanation disappears entirely from the final version.

Another key change appears in the executive summary. The draft describes the Palisades blaze as a “wind-driven brush fire testing the resolve, skill and stamina of every firefighter.” The final version instead reads: “From the first ignition in the Santa Monica Mountains, firefighters were immediately confronted by extreme fire behavior.”

Mayor Bass has faced criticism for leaving the country despite warnings that a major wind event was approaching Los Angeles.

Several other facts were removed outright from the report. A line documenting a unit holding position near a threatened 75-unit condominium complex until approximately 5:30 p.m. before being redeployed was removed.

References to “several injuries” in the first 24 hours were revised to “several minor injuries.”

Even the department’s equipment shortages were recast. The draft states that 40 engines were mechanically unavailable the morning of the fire, and that only one was a ready-reserve engine capable of being staffed.

The final report opens with assurances about fleet availability before later acknowledging the same shortages.

Freddy Escobar, the elected president of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, said he was outraged by the changes made between the draft and final reports.

“The biggest takeaway from these reports are lessons learned,” Escobar said.

“And the public deserves the truth. After-action reports are not disciplinary documents. There is no penalty phase. No punishment.”

Escobar, a firefighter with 36 years’ experience who was recently cleared of allegations that he misused union funds, said he repeatedly warned of staffing and equipment shortages inside the LAFD before the fires.

“That’s why changing them is wrong. If mistakes were made by firefighters, let’s learn from them,” he said.

“If mistakes were made by the commander or the fire chief, let’s learn from them, too.”

Escobar also noted that the report’s author, Battalion Chief Kenneth Cook, removed his name from the final version — because changing the report is “highly unprofessional and inconsistent with established standards.”

“He didn’t want his name on something that wasn’t his report.”

A spokesperson for Mayor Bass on Monday denied any involvement in altering the Palisades report.

“There is absolutely no reason why she would request those details be altered or erased when she herself has been critical of the response to the fire — full stop. She has said this for months.”

“This is muckraking journalism at its lowest form. It is dangerous and irresponsible to rely on third-hand, unsourced information to make unsubstantiated character attacks to advance a narrative that is false.”

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters