Chief Deputy Joe Everett was the Incident Commander for the Palisades Fire, calling many of the shots and making critical decisions like evacuations.
"When the wind blows, the maple leaves are dry, the palm trees are swaying... I have a tremendous amount of anxiety and I start running hundreds of scenarios through my head on what may be, what could happen," Everett told 7 On Your Side Investigates.
When asked if he felt that way the morning of Jan. 7 before the L.A fires sparked, he answered: "Absolutely, absolutely."
WATCH | Kevin Ozebek shares insights behind his interview with Palisades Fire Incident Commander
Kevin Ozebek shares insights behind his interview with Palisades Fire incident commander
Despite waking up nervous that morning, Everett says he never imagined a fire so destructive it would burn parts of the Palisades unrecognizable.
As the plume from the fire grew, Everett raced in from a Hollywood fire and made it to Fire Station 23 in the Palisades where he ran into someone evacuating children from their school.
"I said hello to her as I was walking up to the command post and she hugged me and I remember her shaking. That was the first thing I saw," said Everett as he started to get teary eyed."It just became raw and real."
Very real for Everett because once on scene, he became the Incident Commander, tasked with making critical decisions and leading the firefight.
He says evacuations were already underway before he took command, but he eventually called for all of the Palisades to be evacuated.
Many residents say that evacuation was chaotic.
Some even had to ditch their cars which were eventually bulldozed to get them out of the firefighters' way.
"Now that I look back at it, there certainly needs to be a better way," said Everett.
"I don't necessarily have the answers to that now, but I will tell you that is a paramount in our improvements needed."
7 On Your Side Investigates asked Everett if he wished he would of done anything differently.
"I wished that I could have shut off the radio chatter and stepped away from the immediate emergencies that were taking place because some of those were immediate evacuations of people that were trapped. Some of those are firefighter emergencies that are hurt," answered Everett.
"I wish that I could have stepped aside and say don't worry about that, worry about the overall strategic perspective and get in front of this fire."
We now know the source of the Palisades Fire was the Lachman Fire that sparked on Jan. 1 and, according to federal investigators, smoldered underground for a week before devastating winds whipped it into a destructive blaze.
On Jan. 16, then-LAFD Assistant Chief Everett for the West Bureau, which includes the Palisades, spoke at a community meeting and said he was out of town on New Year's, but was on the phone with the firefighters at the Lachman scene.
"That fire was dead out. If it is determined that was the cause, it would be a phenomenon," he said at that meeting.
Speaking with ABC7 months later, Everett said: "I had full faith and belief that they did a good job, and I do today. I stand by that word phenomenon."
LAFD says remnants of Lachman Fire were 'undetectable'
According to a "Hose and Equipment Recovery" memo obtained by 7 On Your Side, the hose left on the Lachman site in case of a flare up was taken back on Jan. 3.
When asked if that was a mistake, and whether those hose should have been kept in place longer - and whether firefighters should have been checking on that burn scar longer - Everett responded:
"Well, I mean, in retrospect, I think yes. But I'm answering that question knowing about the devastation of the Jan 7 fire. Did I feel confident with the officers that were on scene, with the firefighters and their boots on the ground, with the work they did? Absolutely."
Everett says, to his knowledge, all mop-up procedures for the Lachman Fire were followed, but from now on, the LAFD will fly heat-detecting drones over burn scars.