The report praised LAPD officers for their heroism during the January inferno, but it also found that communication was poor between the LAPD and Los Angeles Fire Department.
Although both agencies worked out of the same command post, developing shared strategies proved challenging. At times there was also uncertainty over who was in charge, according to the report.
That confusion only worsened when National Guard troops were deployed to the fire zone.
The after-action report was presented at Tuesday's meeting of the Los Angeles Police Commission.
"The report found that in the initial coordination, on the initial days, there was area for improvement between LAFD and LAPD," Assistant Chief Michael Rimkunas of the LAPD told the commission.
The report notes that there was not an official log that tracked the comings and goings of about 700 police officers who were part of the LAPD response to the fire.
Communication breakdowns were also exacerbated by downed radio and cellphone towers in the area, the report says. As a result, dispatchers were sometimes forced to hand-deliver important documents.
New questions raised over Palisades Fire after-action report
"On the topic of documentation, the report found that there were some gaps in critical record-keeping during the initial response," Rimkunas said. "Furthermore, we found, regarding chain of command, that during the incident we had several incident-management teams assigned to manage the operation."
Another issued faced by the LAPD was zone-mapping, Rimkunas said. "This led to confusion when the evacuation zone spread into Brentwood and the (San Fernando) Valley."
Officials noted that the LAPD had never before responded to a wildfire of the magnitude of the Palisades Fire.
Overall, 90 crimes were committed in the Palisades Fire zone, and the deaths of five people within the city limits were still being investigated, police said.
The release of the LAPD report comes nearly a month after the LAFD released its after-action report in early October.