California Gov. Newsom orders independent investigation after hydrants run dry: ‘We need answers’

California Gov. Gavin Newsom demanded an independent investigation into the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) after firefighters faced a nightmare situation: fire hydrants that had run out of water.

“From the moment firestorms erupted in Los Angeles County on Tuesday, January 7, it was clear our public infrastructure would be put under tremendous strain,” he said in a Friday letter to the LADWP.

Calling the discovery “deeply troubling,” Newsom said that losing power to hydrants as the fire seized Los Angeles’ homes “likely impaired” recovery efforts.

“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,” he said. “While water supplies from local fire hydrants are not designed to extinguish wildfires over large areas, losing supplies from fire hydrants likely impaired the effort to protect some homes and evacuation corridors.”

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The California governor said that “we need answers” and that he has directed officials to prepare for an independent after-incident report focused on determining the causes of lost water supply and water pressure.

“We need answers to how that happened. Therefore, I have directed state water and firefighting officials to prepare an independent after-incident report examining the causes of lost water supply and water pressure in municipal water systems during the fire events, and to identify measures that local governments can implement to provide adequate water supply for emergency response during future catastrophic events,” he said.

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“I request that LADWP and Los Angeles County officials swiftly prepare a comprehensive review examining their local preparation and response procedures to ensure available water supply for emergencies, and document any causes of the loss of water pressure and unavailability of water supplies.”

Newsom’s directive came after L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said on Thursday that up to 20% of the city’s hydrants were dry. She said that as of Thursday, firefighters had completely stopped tapping hydrants.

The LADWP was initially pumping aqueducts and groundwater into the system, but demand was so high that there wasn’t enough to refill three 1-million gallon tanks in the hilly Pacific Palisades that help pressurize hydrants. 

Many went dry as at least 10,000 homes and buildings were engulfed in flames.