The California Department of Justice has started a civil rights investigation into whether Los Angeles County discriminated against West Altadena, a mostly Black community, during last year's Eaton Fire. They will check if race, age, or disability caused a “disparate impact” in fire response. Residents on the richer, mostly white eastern side got evacuation alerts within an hour. West Altadena residents waited about eight hours. As the fire hit West Altadena around 3 a.m., only one fire truck was present, while many trucks battled fires on the east side. This lag in help and alert hurt West Altadena badly. 18 of the 19 people who died were from West Altadena. Nearly 60% of Black-owned homes there were damaged. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said, “There was, indisputably, a delayed emergency notification and evacuation of west Altadena.” He added, “We’re here to ask why.” He questioned if the slow response broke state anti-discrimination and disability laws. The Los Angeles County Fire Department has not commented yet. A local group, Altadena for Accountability, praised the investigation, calling it “a trailblazing move for civil rights and environmental justice.” Fire survivor Sylvie Andrews said, “No other analysis or report has done what this investigation will do – only the attorney general has the authority and subpoena power to examine whether our civil rights were violated.”