Up to 20 percent of hydrants in Los Angeles were unusable when firefighters needed water.
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.
“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 posted on Jan. 10 on social media platform X.
“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,”