CALIFORNIA – Governor Newsom ordered the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and Los Angeles County Public Works to review preparation and response procedures after fire hydrants ran dry during the LA County wildfires.
“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 the community,” said Newsom in the letter.
He goes on to say that 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 requested the department provide the review to state water and firefighting officials for an independent post-incident report.
Photo credit: Governor Gavin NewsomLAFD is responsible for inspecting fire hydrants
In a statement, LADWP said they want to correct misinformation regarding the water supply.
“Any assertion that fire hydrants in the Pacific Palisades were broken before the Palisades fire is misleading and false. LADWP works with LAFD who is responsible for inspecting fire hydrants citywide,” said LADWP.
They said they repaired every hydrant needing repairs as reported by LA Fire Department (LAFD) inspectors and their fire hydrant repair list was current and updated. In addition, all reported fire hydrants were fully operational in the Pacific Palisades and in LA’s Westside communities prior to the fire.
Water pressure loss due to extreme water demand
LADWP also said that no power was lost to their pump stations during the fire, and water supply remained strong to the area.
“Water pressure in the system was lost 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,” said LADWP.
They also address the unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir.
“LADWP 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,” said LADWP.
The department said they are going to start their own investigation to see how they can improve their ability to handle water supply issues, especially when it comes to dealing with climate change and its effects.
RELATED: Insurance commissioner halts policy cancellations and non-renewals in SoCal for 1 year
 and Los Angeles County Public Works ordering a “comprehensive review” of preparation and response procedures.){kind=link}