Firefighters warned their battalion chief that "the ground was still smoldering and rocks remained hot to the touch" at the site. But their battalion chief, identified as Mario Garcia, ordered them to roll up their hoses and pull out of the area on Jan. 2 rather than stay and make sure there were no hidden embers that could spark a new fire. The first fire remained burning underground until the strong winds of Jan. 7 rekindled it and ignited the devastating Palisades fire. 
LA Fire Department Interim Chief Ronnie Villanova said that the area had been 'cold trailed' twice meaning that the firemen used their hands to feel for heat, dug out hot spots, and chopped a line around the perimeter of the fire to ensure it was contained. However, officials failed to provide records that would have corroborated this story.

Although the Los Angeles Fire Department equips firefighters with thermal imaging cameras and also employs drones with similar infrared imaging, officials decided against using them. 

Jimmy Dore pointed out that the 113-million gallon reservoir that hadn't been repaired sat empty for two years and contributed to the fire that resulted in 12 deaths and massive property damage.  

A new report in the Los Angeles Times indicates that firefighters were ordered to abandon the smoldering underground fire that later became the devastating Palisades Fire, something the crews on the ground thought was a "bad idea."

According to text messages reviewed by the Times, firefighters told their battalion chief that "the ground was still smoldering and rocks remained hot to the touch" at the site of the Lachman Fire, which burned on New Year's Day before being contained.

Despite that warning, "their battalion chief ordered them to roll up their hoses and pull out of the area on Jan. 2 — the day after the 8-acre blaze was declared contained — rather than stay and make sure there were no hidden embers that could spark a new fire," the Times reports.