Gavin Newsom / CBS
California’s Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom ordered an independent investigation into the lack of water in fire hydrants after Los Angeles burned.
“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 said.
“We need answers to ensure this does not happen again and we have every resource available to fight these catastrophic fires,” he said.
Newsom’s letter was addressed to Janisse Quiñones, the overpaid bureaucrat who oversees fire hydrant maintenance.
NEW: 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.
We need answers to ensure this does not happen again and we have every resource available to… pic.twitter.com/R0vq0wwZph
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) January 10, 2025
Local news reporters captured shocking footage of firefighters encountering dry fire hydrants as structures burned in the LA fires.
WATCH:
Around 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, a hydrant firefighters were using on Lachman Lane ran dry. You can hear what sounds like air pushing out, but no water. #PalisadesWildfire #PalisadeFire #PacificPalisades pic.twitter.com/09e6FRrcIM
— Matthew Seedorff (@MattSeedorff) January 8, 2025
On the ground, firefighters reported that several hydrants in the area had run dry, severely hampering their efforts to control the inferno.
“There’s no water in the fire hydrants,” Rick Caruso, owner of the Palisades Village shopping center, told The Times. “The firefighters are there, and there’s nothing they can do — we’ve got neighborhoods burning, homes burning, and businesses burning. … It should never happen.”
Reports have surfaced that a Los Angeles County official responsible for this simple task of overseeing fire hydrant maintenance is raking in an astonishing $750,000 annually.
Janisse Quiñones “knew about empty reservoir and broken hydrants” several months before Tuesday’s wildfires.
Janisse Quiñones (Credit: LA DWP)
Additionally, according to a leaked memo, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass demanded an additional $49 million in budget cuts to the already cash-strapped Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) just days before wildfires ravaged the city.
The memo, dated January 6—merely a day before the Palisades Fire ravaged the region—proposed shutting down 16 fire stations across the city, slashing resources critical for combating wildfires and responding to emergencies.
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