Whistleblower alleges manager asleep on job during Eaton Fire response. Complaint raises questions about accountability and preparedness
Imperfect Paradise
LAist Studios
4.5 • 535 Ratings
🗓️ 20 March 2026
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A whistleblower at the L.A. County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) filed a complaint alleging a colleague with a history of sleeping on the job was in charge of emergency workers sending evacuation alerts during critical moments of the Eaton Fire. LAist Climate and Environment Senior Reporter Erin Stone breaks down the complaint, what happened at OEM when the January 2025 fires broke out, and the serious concerns raised about OEM’s preparedness for the next big disaster.
Read Erin’s full report at LAist.com.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Here at LAist, you ask, we answer. |
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| 0:16.7 | Hi, I'm Nereida Moreno, host of the LA Report's Afternoon Edition, the stories you need in less than five minutes. |
| 0:23.4 | You're listening to The LA Report. |
| 0:25.4 | Subscribe wherever you get podcasts. |
| 0:30.2 | This is Imperfect Paradise. I'm Nereida Moreno. |
| 0:36.0 | Accountability. Who is responsible for failures in emergency management during a disaster? And who should be held accountable? |
| 0:43.9 | They're lingering and painful questions for communities in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades as they grapple with the recovery more than a year after the January fires destroyed thousands of homes |
| 0:55.3 | and killed at least 31 people. |
| 0:59.1 | But we're getting new insights into the Eaton Fire emergency response about troubling allegations |
| 1:05.0 | within a whistleblower complaint that pull back the curtains inside LA County's office of |
| 1:10.0 | emergency management. |
| 1:11.9 | I think everybody kind of puts L.A. County on this pedestal because it's the biggest county in the country. |
| 1:17.4 | What I ended up finding out over time is that that is complete smoke and mirrors. |
| 1:25.6 | You'll hear more from the whistleblower who alleges that an employee who had a long history of sleeping on the job was placed in a key role as the Eden fire rapidly spread across Altadena. |
| 1:38.1 | In the months that have followed the deadly fires, we've been tracking on Imperfect Paradise, the ongoing developments and investigations |
| 1:45.2 | into the fire response, the impact of SoCal's communities, and questions around accountability. |
| 1:51.9 | This week, we look into the whistleblower complaint that raises serious questions about |
| 1:56.7 | LA County's Office of Emergency Management, or OEM, its staffing, its response, and whether the agency is prepared for the next big disaster. |
| 2:07.2 | L.A.'s climate and environment senior reporter Aaron Stone got access to the whistleblower complaint, and she's here to tell us more. |
| 2:14.4 | Hey, Erin. Hi, Nareda. |
... |
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