False Reporting of Structures Lost

False Reporting of Structures Lost

Executive Summary

Between January 7 and January 10, 2025, Cal Fire released seven fire perimeter updates and 107 fire status updates on the Palisades Fire, repeatedly publishing conflicting acreage figures and drastically underreporting the number of structures destroyed.

Most notably, on the morning of January 8, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone knowingly misled the public during a live KNEX 1070 radio press conference, claiming that only “a few dozen structures” had been impacted, despite internal knowledge that almost 10,000 structures were already on fire. Within hours, Marrone shifted his statements to acknowledge at least 1,000 destroyed structures, yet Cal Fire continued to publicly report only 300. By this time, Cal Fire, LAFD, and LACoFD were already fully aware that 6,676 structures had been destroyed and 9,926 had been impacted.

On January 17, 2025, the Fire Department in Pacific Palisades confirmed to Michael Kureth that Marrone’s false statements were deliberate, intended to downplay the scale of destruction, avoid public panic, and deter residents from attempting to re-enter evacuation zones.

Detailed Summary

Between January 7 and January 10, 2025, Cal Fire issued 7 fire perimeter updates and 107 fire status updates on the Palisades Fire. These updates contained conflicting acreage figures and severely understated reports of structure losses, despite internal awareness of the true scale of destruction.

On January 8, 2025 at 7:00 a.m., Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone publicly stated during a press conference broadcast on KNEX 1070 radio that only “a few dozen structures” had been impacted. Within hours, his reported figures escalated dramatically: by late morning and afternoon, multiple outlets, including the Associated Press, cited Marrone confirming that at least 1,000 structures had been destroyed, with some reports placing the number as high as 1,100.

Despite these public acknowledgments, Cal Fire’s own 11:45 a.m. update on January 8 continued to report that only 300 structures were destroyed, while simultaneously releasing inconsistent acreage totals ranging from 11,802 to 15,832 acres.

In reality, by this time Cal Fire, LAFD, and LACoFD were already aware that 6,676 structures had been destroyed and 9,926 structures had been impacted by the fire.

On January 23, 2025 at 11:30 AM, Michael Kureth spoke directly with the fire department in Pacific Palisades. In that conversation, it was confirmed that Chief Marrone had knowingly misled fire victims, both to prevent widespread panic and to discourage residents from attempting to re-enter evacuation zones.

This sequence of events reveals a systematic pattern of misinformation in public reporting, where official agencies released figures that minimized the scale of destruction, even as they possessed accurate internal assessments showing catastrophic losses.

Palisades Fire - Reported vs. Known Figures

Cal Fire Perimeter Updates

Data Source

Map Acre Data:
https://calfire-forestry.maps.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?layers=1eafbe19a7454b77a83a7a84ec12419f

Fire Update Data:
https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2025/1/7/palisades-fire/updates/

Structure Damage Data:
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?url=https://services1.arcgis.com/jUJYIo9tSA7EHvfZ/ArcGIS/rest/services/DINS_2025_Palisades_Public_View/FeatureServer&source=sd

Credits

Report, Investigation, and Data Analysis:
Michael Kureth