“Highly unprofessional”: Author of the 2025 LAFD wildfire after‑action report rejects final draft after major sections removed

Los Angeles: The battalion chief who authored the Palisades Fire after‑action report declined to endorse the final release, arguing that extensive edits distorted his conclusions, eliminated key failures, and failed to meet the department’s professional standards.

According to FireRescue.com, Battalion Chief Kenneth Cook, who wrote the original assessment, after the report’s public release on Oct. 8, said the final draft  contained “substantial modifications” and “significant deletions” that altered his conclusions. 

Cook called the published version “highly unprofessional and inconsistent with our established standards” and urged the department to reconsider releasing it in its current form.

“Having reviewed the revised version submitted by your office, I must respectfully decline to endorse it in its current form,” Cook wrote. 

“The document has undergone substantial modifications and contains significant deletions of information that, in some instances, alter the conclusions originally presented.”

On December 31, 2025, the LAFD wrote on their own home age:  

"A public records request was submitted for the Palisades After-Action Review, including all associated draft documents. In response, the Department has released the requested records, including draft versions of the report.... Please be advised -- drafts of the after-action report are working documents, not final findings. They often include preliminary analysis and internal discussion that are refined through review. Releasing drafts without context can create confusion or misinterpretation, particularly when those materials were never intended to represent final conclusions. 

A separate report from AOL News confirmed Cook’s objections and noted that he warned the edited version could conflict with an independent state‑commissioned review of the January wildfires ordered by the governor’s office.

Further Reading:

https://www.firerescue1.com/wildfire-and-wildland-urban-interface/highly-unprofessional-lafd-wildfire-after-action-report-author-rejects-final-draft-over-major-deletions

https://www.aol.com/news/author-lafd-palisades-fire-report-194904766.html

https://lafd.org/news/palisades-afteraction-review-report-drafts-and-final

https://briefly.co/anchor/Los_Angeles/story/author-of-key-report-on-palisades-fire-was-upset-over-changes-that-weakened-it-sources-say

https://deadline.com/2025/10/palisades-fire-lafd-internal-report-released-1236574086/

Photo Credit: Wikipedia Creative Commons License . Public Domain

• File:Homes destroyed in the Palisades fire (54272193113).jpg

• Created: Taken on 15 January 2025Upload date: 17 January 2025

• Uploaded: 20 January 2025

Evening light falls across homes and neighborhoods devastated by the Palisades Fire in areas near Pacific Palisades, California, Jan. [15], 2025. More than 2,500 National Guard personnel have been called up as part of wildfire response efforts and have been providing aerial and ground firefighting support, security and traffic control, and logistical support in support of state, and federal authorities.

By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy - https://www.flickr.com/photos/thenationalguard/54272193113This image was released by the United States Army with the ID 250114-A-WU705-4564R