Officials: Pacific Palisades Reservoir Was Closed and Empty When Los Angeles Wildfires Erupted
A Pacific Palisades reservoir was closed when wildfires swept through the area and devastated the community, officials told the Los Angeles Times.
The Santa Ynez Reservoir is connected to the Los Angeles water supply system, and authorities said it was shut down for repairs at the time the fires erupted, “leaving a 117 million gallon water storage complex empty in the heart of the Palisades,” the newspaper reported on Friday.
A reservoir in the Palisades that holds 117 million gallons of water was offline this month for previously scheduled maintenance. It was empty when the Palisades fire exploded. https://t.co/qLgNpFPwiu
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) January 10, 2025
The news comes as people are questioning why firefighters ran out of water as they tried to save structures and communities from the blaze that has wreaked havoc across the Los Angeles area.
“Department of Water and Power [DWP] officials have said that demand for water during an unprecedented fire made it impossible to maintain any pressure to hydrants at high elevations,” the report noted.
Former DWP general manager Martin Adams said if the reservoir had been ready for operation, the water pressure would have reached the Palisades for a time but would not have fixed the issue entirely.
(Read more from “Officials: Pacific Palisades Reservoir Was Closed and Empty When Los Angeles Wildfires Erupted” HERE)
