Los Angeles Fire Department officials on Monday had all available extra engines available and deployed 30 engines in fire risk areas in preparation for another round of extreme fire weather conditions, but they had not deployed any engines ahead of the deadly Palisades fire, internal records show. can take these measures and officials.

The agency also ordered about 1,000 firefighters to stay on duty to staff additional engines, fire officials told reporters Monday.

The actions come after The Times found that the Los Angeles Fire Department decided not to take these drastic measures on Jan. 7 despite a special warning from the National Weather Service that a life-threatening and destructive storm would hit the area. .

"The prepositioning was very, very thoughtful and strategic," Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Christine Crowley said at a news conference Monday morning. She could not explain exactly where the engines were prepositioned and said officials would provide information later. this information.

Mayor Karen Bass said the city is "well-positioned" to respond to any fires that may occur.

"I believe we will be very, very prepared for the worst-case scenario that may arise in the next few days, and then hopefully we won't have that scenario at all," Bass told reporters at a news conference.

The weather service issued a warning of "particularly hazardous conditions" that will last from noon Monday through 10 a.m. Tuesday in parts of Los Angeles County and much of Ventura County.

Peak gusts of 50 mph to 70 mph are possible in coastal and valley areas and 60 mph to 100 mph in mountain and foothill areas, while sustained winds are expected to be between 25 mph and 40 mph. miles per hour.

Through Jan. 7, the weather service is warning of damaging wind gusts of 50 to 80 mph, with localized gusts of 80 to 100 mph in the mountains and foothills.

It hasn't rained recently and the fuel is extremely dry.

"That means if it were ignited, there would likely be extreme fire weather and behavior," Crowley said.

Crowley said additional firefighters have been dispatched to man the available engines to supplement the 20 LAFD engines still assigned to the Palisades Fire, along with other state and federal resources. Firefighters continued to respond to routine 911 calls elsewhere in the city, she said.

“We’re very busy in town,” she said. "Our job is to ensure that we continue to provide 911 services in addition to pre-positioning, augmentation and ongoing response to the Palisades fire."

The Times found that before the Jan. 7 storm, no additional engines were installed on Pacific Palisades, as had been the case in the past. A fire broke out at the location around 10:30 a.m. The department has nine engines prepositioned in the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood, where fires are expected. Officials said they moved more engines "first thing in the morning" to cover northeast Los Angeles

Fire officials also chose not to order the 1,000 firefighters to remain on duty for a second shift that day due to increased winds - which would have doubled existing personnel - and only manned the more than 40 fire engines available to supplement conventional firefighting. 5 units. Firefighters fighting wildfires.

Known internally as 200 series engines, they are the same as other engines and are typically used with hook and ladder trucks that do not haul water. They usually consist of an engineer. When needed to respond to wildfires, they carry four firefighters.

They also chose not to field the nine "spare" engines (referred to internally as the 400 Series) that were supposed to be available to respond to weather emergencies and sometimes replace damaged equipment in station houses. Officials said two of the nine aircraft were taken out of service and needed to be replaced.

Battalion Chief Patrick Leonard said the outgoing firefighters were not ordered to continue working on Jan. 7 because "we didn't have the equipment" including engines for another 1,000 members.

On Monday, fire officials decided to staff all available 200 and 400 series engines, according to an internal planning document.

Times staff writers Paul Pringle and Julia Wick contributed to this report.