Report finds officials delayed help in Station Fire

According to a recently released internal federal review, the U.S. Forest Service delayed ordering additional firefighters and other resources that could have helped stop the 2009 Station Fire in order to reduce spending.

The review, which was conducted by the Agriculture Department, also revealed that the Forest Service chose only to focus their efforts on the hillside neighborhoods and structures located on Mt. Wilson, leaving the backcountry area of the fire unmanaged as it reached Angeles National Park.

Los Angeles-area house members plan to address the findings with former and present Forest Service authorities and L.A. County Fire Department officials in a public panel Tuesday morning in Pasadena.

“[The review] raises serious questions about whether a Forest Service policy intended to limit costs prevented the timely use of resources… This will certainly be one of the important issues I intend to raise,” Rep. Adam Schiff (D- Burbank) said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.

The fire was the largest in Los Angeles County history, with 250 square miles and more than 200 structures destroyed by the flames.