Los Angeles utility sued for Palisades Fire water shortage

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was sued on Monday on claims that it failed to properly manage water supplies critical to fighting the deadly Palisades Fire, a court filing showed.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of residents and others affected by the historic blaze that destroyed the west Los Angeles community of Pacific Palisades, says LADWP should have maintained water in a nearby reservoir, which was dry at the time the fire first erupted last Tuesday.

That reservoir, the Santa Ynez, had capacity to hold 443 million litres of water but had been out of commission since February 2024, the lawsuit said. The LADWP sought bids for its repair in April 2024 costing up to $89,000, the complaint said, but entered into a contract in November to complete those repairs for roughly $130,000.

"The Palisades Fire has been a traumatic event for its victims, who through no fault of their own, went from homeowners to homeless in a matter of hours," according to the complaint, filed by law firm Robertson & Associates in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The Palisades fire, which has already killed at least eight people and destroyed thousands of structures, was still a threat on Monday, having burned some 96 square km.

Governor Gavin Newsom last week called for an investigation into the handling of water resources by LADWP, which is the largest US municipal utility.

A spokesperson for the LADWP did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

LADWP CEO Janisse Quinones last week said the demand to fight water at lower elevations was impeding the ability of the city to refill water tanks at higher elevations. LADWP said it had filled all available water tanks in the city ahead of the windstorm that perpetuated the rapid spread of the fires.

Three water storage tanks were exhausted within a day of the fires starting, Quinones said last week in a press briefing.