LA moves to create registry of elderly, disabled residents after wildfire evacuation failures

Los Angeles County officials are moving to create a registry for people with disabilities and other mobility challenges in the wake of the fires that devastated the area in January. This comes after there were multiple elderly and disabled Californians left stranded during the devastating fires.

On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion from Supervisors Kathryn Barger and Janice Hahn to study a possible registry, per the Los Angeles Times. Of the 17 people killed in the Eaton fire, at least one-third of them suffered from impairments that may have affected their mobility, and the median age of those killed was 77.

"When the next disaster hits, we need to be better prepared to evacuate people who cannot evacuate themselves. In an emergency, our first responders should know who our most vulnerable residents are, where they are, and how to reach them when minutes matter and lives are on the line," Hahn said.

Barger, who represents Altadena, said the motion was a "critical step toward strengthening our preparedness and response efforts."

"It is devastating to learn that the average age of the 17 lives lost in the Eaton fire was 77 — a tragic reminder of the urgent need to safeguard seniors and people with disabilities during emergency evacuations. We have a duty to ensure no one is left behind," Barger said.

Anthony Mitchell Jr, whose brother and father, Anthony Mitchell Sr, died in the fire while awaiting rescue, said he supported the creation of such a registry. "It would have saved my father. It would have saved all of them people there. A lot of people they literally forgot about."

Mitchell Sr. had reassured family members before he died that someone was coming to rescue him. Mitchell Jr. said, "They trusted in the system. And the system let them down." Mitchell Jr. who is disabled, called for the registry to be set up across California: "If a fire starts in one county, it always ends up in other counties."

The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) in 2023 reviewed LA County’s Emergency Operations Plan and raised concerns about the country’s ability to help residents evacuate. Overall, 17 recommendations were made by Cal OES to the country, including the development of a standard operating procedure to help those with mobility challenges evacuate. "That didn’t happen," the LA Times reported.

Those who run paratransit services said they would have provided vehicles to help with evacuations if they had been called by officials. COO of Access Services Mike Greenwood said that on January 7 and 8, the early days of the fires, he did not receive any calls from officials or a partner transit agency.

During the LA fires, around 850 nursing home, assisted living facility, and group home residents were rescued, many by staff members or Pasadena Transit bus drivers. The Disability Community Resource Center told people on its registry to ask neighbors for a ride, and the group and others ordered Ubers, Lyfts, and autonomous vehicles to evacuate people from their homes.