Los Angeles City Council members who represent the West Side, which includes much of the area destroyed by the Palisades fire, on Tuesday asked the city’s water utility why firefighters ran out of water early in last week’s epic shootout and why. He asked them to explain why the main reservoir had stopped working.
City Councilmember Tracy Park asked the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to conduct a “root cause analysis of the water pressure issues that have resulted in low water pressure and dried up fire hydrants” in some areas of the Pacific Palisades, as well as steps to address the problem. Suggested that recommendations be presented. In the same motion, Park asked the City Council to demand an explanation from the utility company as to why the Santa Ynez Reservoir in Pacific Palisades has been out of service for months.
Congress approved the measure in a unanimous vote.
Park said fire hydrants have run dry in some parts of the Pacific Palisades, hampering firefighting efforts, and a reservoir that could have provided more water has been closed for nearly a year for repairs. He cited a Times report about the situation.
The effort comes four days after Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the state to investigate the causes behind water problems during the most destructive firestorm in Los Angeles history.
A DWP spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. But the utility said last week that it welcomed Newsom’s investigation. DWP spokeswoman Ellen Chen said Friday that “the study will help identify new capabilities needed for water systems to help fight wildfires.”
In a separate motion, which also passed unanimously, Park called for the establishment of a formal system for DWP to provide “weekly updates” to the Los Angeles Fire Department on the status of reservoirs and critical infrastructure. .
“These weekly updates will include detailed information on locations, conditions, and expected schedules for restoring offline infrastructure, as well as potential gaps in water resources that could impact emergency firefighting capabilities. “The LAFD should be kept fully informed about this,” the motion reads in part. Councilman John Lee, who represents the northwest San Fernando Valley, including Chatsworth and Porter Ranch, joined Park in introducing the motion.
The City Council sought answers about the long-term closure of the Santa Ynez Reservoir in the Highlands neighborhood of Pacific Palisades after The Times reported that the facility has been idle since February 2024.
The reservoir, which has a capacity of 117 million gallons, was drained to repair the floating cap. The repairs have not yet been completed, but a contract worth about $130,000 has been signed with a Lakeside-based company to handle the repairs. The reservoir was also drained in 2022 to repair the floating cover.
DWP officials acknowledged that had the reservoir been operational when the Palisades Fire broke out on Jan. 7, water pressure would have increased. Former DWP general manager Martin Adams told the Times that while reservoirs may have helped, they would not have been a panacea for a system strained by huge demand.
“The inevitable may have been postponed, but it’s hard to know by how much without doing the math,” Adams said. “It wouldn’t have lasted forever, and it wouldn’t have solved everything.”
LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley told reporters she was not aware the reservoir was down.
Had the reservoir been operational, the additional water could have helped save homes here and there, but the “order of magnitude” of destruction remained the same due to the intensity of the fire and the limitations of the water supply system. Probably. said Tom Kennedy, a water consultant and former general manager of the Rainbow City Water District in San Diego County.
“The pipeline is too small…it would not have had any effect on the main driving force of the fire,” Kennedy said. “These wind-driven wildfires will consume all the fuel in their path until the winds subside or the humidity changes.”
DWP has a network of reservoirs throughout the city, including Bel Air, Encino and the Hollywood Hills, which are located during fires and used for resupply by helicopter. The Santa Ynez Reservoir is covered by a roof because it is part of the city’s drinking water supply, but it has a helipad and water station, and helicopters can also be used during firefighting operations.
Firefighters reported several fire hydrants in the Pacific Palisades ran dry on Tuesday and early Wednesday as the fire swept through the area, ultimately destroying more than 5,000 structures.
DWP claims about 20% of the approximately 1,100 fire hydrants in the area have run dry. This number is based on the number of fire hydrants that rely on a network of million-gallon tanks to maintain water pressure. DWP said most fire hydrants at lower elevations were functional.
In Altadena, which is served by another utility, firefighters encountered similar problems with low water pressure as they tried to slow the spread of the Eaton Fire. Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin said dozens of fire engines battled multiple blazes in brutal wind gusts, overusing the water system, and the problem was resolved by Thursday.
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