California Governor Gavin Newsom requested an independent investigation by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) after firefighters faced a nightmare: fire hydrants that ran out of water.
“From the moment the firestorms hit Los Angeles County on Tuesday, January 7th, it was clear that our public infrastructure was going to be under a lot of pressure,” he said in a letter to LADWP on Friday.
Calling the discovery “deeply troubling,” Newsom said the loss of power to fire hydrants as the fire ripped through homes in Los Angeles “probably hampered” recovery efforts.
“Ongoing reports of loss of water pressure for some local fire hydrants during the fire and the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir are of deep concern to me and the community,” he said. “Although water supplies from local fire hydrants are not designed to extinguish large-area wildfires, the loss of supplies from fire hydrants likely reduced efforts to protect some houses and evacuation corridors.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass speaks with California Governor Gavin Newsom as he surveys damage during the Palisades wildfires Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Pacific Palisades, CA. (Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
California’s governor said “we need answers” and directed officials to prepare for an independent post-incident report aimed at determining the cause of the water loss and water pressure.
“We need answers as to how this happened. I have therefore instructed the State Water and Fire Service to prepare an independent post-incident report to examine the causes of the loss of water supply and water pressure in the municipal water systems during the fire, and to identify measures to can be implemented by local governments to ensure adequate emergency water supplies during future catastrophic events,” he said.
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“I request that LADWP and Los Angeles County officials quickly prepare a comprehensive review of their local preparedness and response procedures to ensure available emergency water supplies and document all causes of water pressure loss and water supply unavailability.”
A firefighter tapes a fire hydrant near damaged structures burned by the Eaton fire in Altadena, California, U.S., on January 10, 2025. (Ringo Chiu/Reuters)
After that came Newsom’s directive LA Mayor Karen Bass said Thursday that up to 20% of the city’s hydrants are dry. She said that since Thursday the firefighters have completely stopped the hydrant filling.
LADWP initially pumped aqueducts and groundwater into the system, but demand was so high there wasn’t enough to refill the three 1-million-gallon tanks in the hilly Pacific Palisades that help pressurize the hydrants.
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Many were left dry as at least 10,000 homes and buildings were engulfed in flames.
