00:00In the United States, a review found out that the lack of resources and outdated policies for sending emergency alerts
00:07led to delayed evacuation warnings during deadly Los Angeles area wildfires in January.
00:13The independent after-action report produced by the consulting firm Ms. Crystal Group
00:18was commissioned by Los Angeles County Supervisors just weeks after the Eton and Palisades fires
00:24killed more than 30 people and destroyed thousands of homes in Iran, Pacific, Palisades and Altadena.
00:32A Thursday report identified outdated policies, inconsistencies and weak communications as obstacles to the county's response.
00:40The report cited critical staffing shortages, including many sheriff's deputies' vacancies
00:45and on the Resource Office of Emergency Management.
00:54began fire preparation while facing staffing shortages and resource constraints that ranged from personnel gaps,
01:02aging equipment, and budget limitations.
01:05What were previously manageable departmental resources challenges quickly became limiting factors in the response
01:09and the evacuation of over 250,000 residents.
01:13Chief among these resourcing shortfalls is the fact that Los Angeles County,
01:17the largest and most complex metropolitan area in the United States,
01:21has only 37 full-time staff members in the Office of Emergency Management for its 10 million residents.
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