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An explanation for hydrants lacking water given by President Biden on January 8th, during a round table discussion, was a lack of backup generators. City officials did not respond.
Multiple explanations exist for the lack of water from fire hydrants in Pacific Palisades. This phenomenon was not reported as extensively in Altadena, controlled by L.A. County fire department; although it did exist, as reported by National Review. How Policy Decisions Exacerbated the Devastating Los Angeles Wildfires | National Review.
1/10/25: Los Angeles City Fire Chief Crowley
LAFD chief slams Karen Bass for mishandling fire budget amid deadly wildfires: 'Screaming to be properly funded' An interview by FOX LA’s Gigi Graciette revealed enough about the shortages imposed upon the LA FireFighters it got the attention of the Mayor....and the Nation!
"So, my stance on this is when a firefighter comes up to a hydrant, we expect there’s going to be water. We don’t control the water supply. Our firefighters are there to protect lives and property and to make sure that we’re properly trained and equipped. That’s my position on this. So if there’s no water, I don’t know how the water gets to the hydrants. Please defer that to DWP or whomever controls that part. But I can tell you the resiliency of our firefighters. If there’s no water, they’re going to go find water. They’re going to figure out a way to do the best they can with what they’ve got in a very dynamic situation."
Since 2010, the amount of calls firefighters have responded to has doubled, but there are fewer fire stations now than there were then – and 68 fewer firefighters.
1/09/25: Los Angeles City Fire Chief Crowley
In addition to the interview with Kris Chief Crowley had been interviewed by CBS Norah O'Donnel, on January 9th which also addressed her Dec 4th memo. This interview is not as inflammatory. https://youtu.be/8F-2J4Rm9eY?si=axx6AgFYuUXME2cu
1/8/25: President Biden
"What I know from talking to the governor is that there are concerns out there that there's also been a water shortage. The fact is, the utilities understandably shut off power because they're worried the lines that they carried energy were going to be blown down and spark additional fires, but the Cal fire, and when it did that, it cut off the ability to generate pumping the water. That's what caused the lack of water in these hydrants. And so Cal Fire is bringing in generators to get these pumps up and working again so that they're no longer a shortage of water coming out of these hydrants." 4 minute mark. User Clip: Power Shut Off in Pacific Palisades | C-SPAN.org
Entire Presidential Brief: https://www.c-span.org/program/white-house-event/president-biden-briefs-on-california-wildfires-response/654251
1/7/25: Los Angeles DWP CEO/Chief Engineer
Janisse Quiñones, the chief executive officer and chief engineer of Los Angeles' Department of Water and Power, said there has been "tremendous demand on our [water] system in the Palisades," resulting in tanks being emptied three times in less than 24 hours.
"We pushed the system to the extreme, four times the normal demand was seen for 15 hours straight which lowered our water pressure. We were pushing 75 CFS (cubic feet per second) on our trunk line to try to keep water pressure in the system," she explained. According to a report by NBC New blazes erupt as crews battle Palisades Fire
12/4/24: LA Fire Dept. Memo.
Crowley said that a $7 million reduction in overtime hours "severely limited the Department's capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies" and affected their capacity for brush clearance inspections and residential inspections.
Additionally - inspection of fire hydrants!!!
Budget Details
Fiscal 2023-2024 LAFD budget cut ($17M) was second to street services. The $819 million budget paled in comparison to the $1.3B for homeless services of which 50% was not spent ($665M)
An explanation for the budget cuts was offered by Mayor Bass to Fox News as:
"I think if you go back and look at the reductions that were made, there were no reductions that were made that would have impacted the situation that we were dealing with over the last couple of days. And then there was a little bit of confusion because money was allocated to be distributed later on, which was actually going to support salaries and other parts of the fire department that were distributed a little later," LAFD chief says budget cuts hindered response to California fires | FOX 11 Los Angeles
Unrelated to this story is the revelation in June 2024 of an increase in fire hydrant thefts! L.A. fire hydrants vanishing; utility tries to outsmart thieves - Los Angeles Times
More News from Calabasas
- Super Scoopers: $4-5M/3month Leased Fire-Fighting Tools How much did it cost LA Country Fire Department to extend the lease, after its 12/31/24 expiration, for two Canadian Super Scoopers from Quebec's provincial Transport Department?
- Wilhelma Hat Company - Burned in Altadena Altadena has many small businesses which were affected by the Eaton Fire. Wilhelma is a family-owned business which has thrived for ten years but is now burned out.
