Palisades Fire: DWP sued over water availability
LOS ANGELES - A group of survivors of the Palisades Fire are suing the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power over water delivery problems they claim hampered firefighters in battling the deadly blaze.
"The water supply system servicing Pacific Palisades failed miserably, leaving residents and firefighters with little to no water to fight the blaze," said Roger Behle, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, whose own family lost their home during a 2020 wildfire. His clients brought the suit Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The Santa Ynez Reservoir, a 117-million-gallon water storage complex that is part of the Los Angeles water supply system, had been empty for nearly a year, according to Behle.
"LADWP made the conscious decision not to timely repair the Santa Ynez Reservoir cover, leaving the reservoir drained and unusable, all as a cost- savin measure," Behle said. "As a result, residents in one of the most affluent and highest-taxed areas in the nation were denied one of the most basic things a government should provide: water."
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A DWP representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
In a statement issued last week, however, the DWP said the utility "was required to take the Santa Ynez Reservoir out of service to meet safe drinking water regulations. To commission the support and resources to implement repairs to Santa Ynez, LADWP is subject to the city charter's competitive bidding process which requires time.
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"The water system serving the Pacific Palisades area and all of Los Angeles meets all federal and state fire codes for urban development and housing. LADWP built the Pacific Palisades water system beyond the requirements to support the community's typical needs."
DWP officials said a drop in water pressure experienced by fire crews was "due to unprecedented and extreme water demand to fight the wildfire without aerial support. This impacted our ability to refill the three water tanks supplying the Palisades causing the loss of suction pressure. This impacted 20 percent of the hydrants in the area, mostly in the higher elevations."
The Palisades Fire began Jan. 7 at about 10:30 a.m. southeast of Palisades Drive and has become the worst natural disaster in the history of the City of Los Angeles, having destroyed at least 5,300 homes and businesses in Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Topanga Canyon, as well as the deaths and injuries of multiple people.
On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered an independent investigation of the LADWP regarding the loss of water pressure and deliberate shut down of the Santa Ynez Reservoir by the LADWP, calling it "deeply troubling." Newsom also said that the loss of water pressure "likely impaired firefighters' ability to protect homes and evacuation corridors in Pacific Palisades."