Residents of the upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood have filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles' water department, saying its fire preparedness was lacking.
They demand justice. Victims of Pacific Palisades, a Los Angeles neighborhood popular with stars, filed a complaint against the city's Department of Water and Power (LAWDP) after their homes were destroyed by the gigantic fires that devastated the Californian megacity.
“The water system serving Pacific Palisades failed miserably, leaving residents and firefighters with little or no water to fight the fire,” Roger Behle, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, said in a press release cited by the Reuters agency this Tuesday, January 14.
The plaintiffs particularly denounce the fact that the Santa Ynez water reservoir, which supplies the neighborhood, was dry at the time of the fire. The building has actually been empty since February 2024 awaiting repairs to its roof.
Insufficient pressure in fire hydrants
In a note Published to combat “misinformation” regarding the water supply, the LADWP claims it is “required to decommission the Santa Ynez Reservoir to comply with drinking water regulations.”
“To obtain the support and resources needed to implement repairs, the department is subject to the city charter bidding process, which requires time,” the memo continues.
Despite this closure, LADWP says “water supply has remained strong in the area.” “The water system serving the Pacific Palisades area and all of Los Angeles meets all federal and state fire codes,” he insists.
-If the water pressure was insufficient in certain fire hydrants, it was due to “an extreme and unprecedented demand for water”, the department also justifies.
Open investigation
On Friday, California Governor Gavin Newsom called for an independent investigation “into the loss of water pressure at fire hydrants” and “the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir “.
Other residents, this time in the town of Pasadena, filed a complaint against the electricity supplier Southern California Edison, claiming that its equipment started the “Eaton” fire.
The city of Los Angeles, ravaged by more than a week of fires, benefited from a little respite this Wednesday with a lull in the winds which fanned the flames which left at least 24 dead in the second city of the United States. United. Firefighters are still trying to contain these fires which could be the costliest ever recorded in the United States with a toll now estimated at $275 billion.
The damage is considerable: more than 12,000 homes, other buildings and vehicles were destroyed or damaged and entire neighborhoods razed. And thousands of people remain displaced.
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