Reports of water systems that could not provide water to emergency crews during the initial response to the Palisades Fire in Southern California have prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to demand an official inquiry into why some fire hydrants failed to operate.
“We need answers to ensure this does not happen again and we have every resource available to fight these catastrophic fires.”
In a letter addressed to Janisse Quiñones, CEO and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and Mark Pestrella, director of LA County Public Works, the governor said mistakes were made that “likely impaired the effort to protect some homes and evacuation corridors.”
“The ongoing reports of the loss of water pressure to some local fire hydrants during the fires and the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir are deeply troubling to me and to the community,” Newsom wrote. “We need answers to how that happened.”
He is directing a group of state firefighting and water officials to research what happened and produce an independent report that determines the causes of the failure and suggests improvements for future responses.
“That’s what caused the lack of water in these hydrants,” he said.
The president said fire officials are positioning generators to provide backup energy to prevent future occurrences.
City and county officials acknowledged the dilemma during a press conference on Jan. 8 and said the system was overwhelmed by firefighting efforts.
Demand for water supplies was four times the normal amount—for 15 straight hours, according to officials, who said up to 20 percent of hydrants ran dry during the disaster.
“We had a tremendous demand on our system in the Palisades,” Quiñones said during the event. “We pushed our system to the extreme ... which lowered our water pressure.”
Three large water tanks each hold approximately one million gallons to serve the area, and all three were empty by the early morning hours of Jan. 8, she said.
With so many fire engines pulling from hydrants to combat blazes, there was more demand than supply, according to officials.
“We can’t fill the tanks fast enough,” Quiñones said.
Mobile tanks are now being utilized to assist with firefighting efforts, and operations are constantly underway to refill the 4,000-gallon containers, she said.
Quiñones asked Los Angelenos to use as little water as possible because supplies are limited.
“If there’s a message to take away from me today, is I need our customers to really conserve water, not just in the Palisades area, but in the whole system,” she said. “Because the fire department needs the water to fight the fires.”
At least 11 people are dead, and more than 10,000 structures destroyed across Los Angeles County.
Several fires are still burning, including, the Palisades Fire, which has grown to more than 21,000 acres with 8 percent containment, and the Eaton Fire is nearing 14,000 acres and is 3 percent contained.
More than 130,000 residents are under evacuation orders as of Friday.
