Trash Pickup Took Priority Over Emergency Response
Los Angeles prioritized trash pickup over deploying police, firefighters, or issuing evacuations during the Palisades Fire on January 7, 2025, in Pacific Palisades.
Executive Summary
On January 7, 2025, while the Palisades Fire actively burned in Pacific Palisades, LA Sanitation & Environment maintained uninterrupted trash collection. Service began before 10:00 a.m. and continued throughout the day, concluding around 3:00 p.m., even as the fire intensified during that time period.
Residents noted the absence of firetrucks, police vehicles, or evacuation warnings, yet trash trucks operated throughout neighborhoods as scheduled. Hours later, many of these same streets saw homes destroyed, with molten trash bins left fused to asphalt and emptied containers burned in driveways.
In summary, on the day of the fire, trash pickup proceeded reliably and without delay, even as critical emergency response and evacuation measures were lacking.
Trash Pickup vs. Emergency Services During the Palisades Fire
| Service Type | Status on Jan 7, 2025 (7:00 AM - 4:00 PM) | Description | Services Observed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trash Pickup | Performed as Scheduled | Blue (recycling), black (landfill), and green (yard waste) bins were all serviced. |
3/3 |
| Emergency Services | No Response Observed | Police, fire department, and medical services were absent in the affected neighborhoods. |
0/3 |
Trash Collection Blocked Evacuation
“At around 1:15pm, one of two lanes on Sunset were blocked by trash trucks continuing to pick up bins while hundreds were trying to evacuate.”
— Arthur Albert, Pacific Palisades Resident
Amazon and other delivery vehicles were fully operational coming into Pacific Palisades on January 7, 2025 with 0 LAFD, 0 LAPD, and 0 emergency vehicles seen.
Molten trash bins fused into asphalt hours after collection, as the fire raged.
Photo: Michael Kureth
Witness Testimony
“My neighbors and I left our trash cans out on Tuesday morning, just like any other trash day in Pacific Palisades. At 10:45 AM, I brought in my first bin. I brought the next one in just after 1:00 PM, and the last one around 3:00 PM. During that timeframe, multiple food and Amazon deliveries were made with the fire active in the neighborhood. We didn’t get any warning order to evacuate. We never saw a single police officer, police vehicle, firefighter, or fire truck. In fact, our neighbors told us at 3:15 PM that they were staying. About 30 minutes later, we even helped another neighbor bring in their empty trash bins that had just been collected. We ended up evacuating our home around 4:27 PM without any official order. Our home was on fire an hour and half later around 6:00 PM.”
— Michael Kureth
Emptied trash containers, neatly returned to driveways during the fire, later burned and melted into cement.
Photo: Michael Kureth
Video evidence (timestamp 0:28) showing four empty trash bins on a street where the neighborhood was destroyed by fire.
Credits
Report, Investigation, and Testimony:
Michael Kureth
Additional Testimony:
Arthur Albert
Photos:
Merrilyn Romen, Andrew Dubbins, Elisha Courtney, and Michael Kureth
Video:
SoCalGarbageTrucks
Responses