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,” 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.
President Joe Biden said during a briefing on Jan. 9 that utility companies cut power to prevent more fires from being started, which then stopped electric pumps from operating.
“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.
