What’s next for L.A. in the wake of its recent wildfires? In “Rebuilding Los Angeles,” broadcast journalist Kate Cagle examines the systems that failed us, the path forward and the innovative fire recovery efforts making L.A. more resilient. You’ll also hear inspiring stories from real Angelenos working to restore their lives and rise from the ashes. “Rebuilding Los Angeles” is more than an essential resource for California — it’s a cautionary tale for everyone affected by climate change.
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What’s next for L.A. in the wake of its recent wildfires? In “Rebuilding Los Angeles,” broadcast journalist Kate Cagle examines the systems that failed us, the path forward and the innovative fire recovery efforts making L.A. more resilient. You’ll also hear inspiring stories from real Angelenos working to restore their lives and rise from the ashes. “Rebuilding Los Angeles” is more than an essential resource for California — it’s a cautionary tale for everyone affected by climate change.
The $1.9 million investigation that leaves us with ‘more questions than answers’
Rebuilding L.A.
1 hour 1 minute 11 seconds
1 month ago
The $1.9 million investigation that leaves us with ‘more questions than answers’
Nine months and one investigation later, it is still not clear why neighborhoods in Altadena, California did not get an alert to evacuate until 3:25 a.m on January 8th — if residents got one at all — despite repeated calls to 911, hours earlier, that flames from the Eaton Fire were spotted in the area.
The McChrystal Group’s 130-plus page report looks into what happened, but the scope is limited as it only includes information provided by Los Angeles County, and it finds that while there was a whole system of failures that night that led to catastrophe, no one person, or agency, was directly responsible. This missing data and lack of accountability in the report has outraged residents of Altadena. Even the L.A. County Board of Supervisors that commissioned the report has criticized some of its findings.
To find out more about what’s in the McChrystal report — and what is not — we turn to Terry Castleman and Grace Toohey, breaking news reporters for the L.A. Times. Both began covering the failures of the alert system soon after the Eaton Fire burned through Altadena.
Plus, we will hear from Altadena Resident Linda Bazilian whose husband was left to fight the flames from the Eaton Fire by himself the night of January 7th, only to have his home burn down the next day.
Guests:
Terry Castleman and Grace Toohey, reporters for the the Los Angeles Times
Linda Bazilian, Altadena resident
Check out Grace and Terry's Stories:
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-09-25/l-a-county-release-investigation-into-botched-altadena-evacuations
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-09-25/the-eaton-fire-how-the-system-failed-altadena
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-09-27/no-smoking-gun-report-on-altadena-cites-failures-but-did-not-name-names
Rebuilding L.A.
What’s next for L.A. in the wake of its recent wildfires? In “Rebuilding Los Angeles,” broadcast journalist Kate Cagle examines the systems that failed us, the path forward and the innovative fire recovery efforts making L.A. more resilient. You’ll also hear inspiring stories from real Angelenos working to restore their lives and rise from the ashes. “Rebuilding Los Angeles” is more than an essential resource for California — it’s a cautionary tale for everyone affected by climate change.
