California Gov. Gavin Newsom orders independent investigation into dry fire hydrants during LA fires

By Ian James and Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered an independent investigation into the causes behind water supply problems that left dry fire hydrants and hampered firefighting efforts during the devastating fires in Southern California.

Newsom’s demand for answers came amid criticism of city officials in Los Angeles over their handling of the disaster and questions about whether local water-related decisions and planning played a role in depriving firefighters of water during the most destructive fires in L.A. history. The governor has also come under fire, largely on social media and in right-wing media coverage, for the state’s handling of the disaster.

“I am calling for an independent investigation into the loss of water pressure to local fire hydrants and the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir,” the governor said in a post on X. “We need answers to ensure this does not happen again and we have every resource available to fight these catastrophic fires.”

The governor said in a letter to Janisse Quiñones, DWP’s chief executive and chief engineer, that report of “the loss of water pressure to some local fire hydrants during the fires and the reported unavailability of water supplies from Santa Ynez Reservoir are deeply troubling to me and the community.”

“While water supplies from local fire hydrants are not designed to extinguish wildfires over large areas, losing supplies from fire hydrants likely impaired the effort to protect some homes and evacuation corridors,” Newsom wrote. “We need answers to how that happened.

The limitations of local water systems complicated firefighting efforts in Pacific Palisades, where scores of fire hydrants were left with little or no water, and in Altadena and Pasadena, which are served by different utilities and where firefighters say they have grappled with low water pressure.

The problems have exposed what experts say are limitations in city water supply systems not built for wildfires on this scale. Water researchers and experts have said the system that supplies neighborhoods doesn’t have the capacity to deliver such large volumes of water over several hours.

Additionally, a large reservoir in Pacific Palisades that is part of the L.A. water system was out of use when the wildfire destroyed thousands of homes and other structures. Officials told The Times that the Santa Ynez Reservoir had been closed for repairs to its cover, leaving a 117 million gallon water storage complex empty.

Whether having the reservoir online would have had a meaningful impact on fighting the blaze is unclear. DWP says staffers are conducting an analysis to evaluate the effect of the reservoir being offline.

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