"The investigation we've launched is driven by one overarching question: Did the Los Angeles County Fire Department's delay in notifying and evacuating the historically Black west Altadena community during the Eaton Fire violate state anti-discrimination and disability rights laws," said California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who announced the probe on Thursday.
The Eaton Fire scorched more than 14,000 acres, killed 19 people, and destroyed over 9,000 buildings - making it one of the deadliest wildfires in California history.
"What happened in Altadena demands that we ask hard questions, not only for this community, but if for every community that will face disasters in the years to come," said Altadena resident Shimica Gaskins.
Many residents believe the investigation is critical.
"What we know what we didn't see were Los Angeles sheriff's department vehicles, or officers, knocking on doors on the west side," said Altadena Resident Gina Clayton-Johnson. "We didn't see fire personnel in a timely way, we did not get evacuations."
Community advocates and dozens of residents gathered Thursday to call for accountability.
Many repeated concerns that only minimal resources were directed to the west side during the critical early hours of the disaster.
"We had, you know, one fire truck sent here, 18 of the 19 deaths happened on the west side, the historically Black side of the community, we deserve answers," said Clayton-Johnson.
Bonta said the goal of the investigation is accountability and preventing future tragedies.
"To evaluate if the processes and systems are failing certain communities, to make sure no rights were violated, no law is broken," he said.
Bonta added that there will be no further updates until a final report is released to preserve the integrity of the investigation.