LA water chief knew about empty reservoir, broken hydrants months before fires: Report
by CAITLYN FROLO | The National News Desk
Fri, January 10th 2025 at 10:46 PM
Updated Sat, January 11th 2025 at 12:16 PM
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The Daily Mail reports the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) CEO Janisse Quiñones was hired by Mayor Karen Bass on a $750,000 salary in May. (Credit: Los Angeles Department of Water & Power/AP Photo)
  
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WASHINGTON (TNND) — Los Angeles' water chief reportedly knew about an empty reservoir and broken fire hydrants months before the deadly wildfires now spreading across the city that have left some communities in ashes.
The Daily Mail reports the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) CEO Janisse Quiñones was hired by Mayor Karen Bass on a $750,000 salary in May.
Now, LA Fire Department insiders are blaming Quiñones for a nearby reservoir disconnection and broken fire hydrants, the outlet reports, claiming this has led to firefighters running out of water.
The Mail reports that Quiñones' past employer was linked to fire scandals. Quiñones previously held a top executive role at electric company PG&E. The company previously went bankrupt over liability for several California wildfires, the outlet reports.
The devastation of the Palisades Fire is seen in the early morning in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Quiñones reportedly oversaw the emptying of the Santa Ynez Reservoir in the Pacific Palisades area during bushfire season, sources told the outlet.
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The reservoir was designed to hold 117 million gallons of water, but was taken offline recently to fix a tear in the cover, the LA Times reported Friday.
Former DWP general manager Martin Adams told the Times that having the reservoir would have helped fight the Palisades Fire.
An LAFD source told The Daily Mail that DWP officials said "Had it not been closed they probably would have been okay and had enough water for the fire."
Latest on the wildfires and a push for answers. (TNND)
During a press conference amid the fires this week, Quiñones said fire crews ran out of water due to "low pressure in the system," because they were using water faster than it was being replenished. The source, a former LAFD senior official told the Mail lack of water was a "common" problem, with a failure by DWP to fix fire hydrants.
A current LAFD member told the outlet some fire hydrants were not working in the Palisades area during the fires this week.
California Governor Gavin Newsom is demanding an independent investigation into Los Angeles' power and water departments after firefighters say many hydrants ran out of water. He is also looking into the reported reservoir closure.
Newsom shared a letter addressed to Quiñones on his X account.
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," Newsom wrote. "We need answers to ensure this does not happen again and we have every resource available to fight these catastrophic fires." The Mail reports that Quiñones' past employer was linked to fire scandals. Quiñones previously held a top executive role at electric company PG&E. The company previously went bankrupt over liability for several California wildfires, the outlet reports.
The fires have burned more than 12,000 homes and other structures when they first began popping up around a densely populated, 25-mile (40-kilometer) expanse north of downtown LA. At least 11 people have been killed, with five from the Palisades Fire and six from the Eaton Fire, according to the LA County medical examiner's office.
No cause has been identified yet for the largest fires. |
