LADWP has restored power to all customers affected by last week’s windstorm, except those in the fire-impacted areas. This affects approximately 17,000 customers in Pacific Palisades, Encino and Brentwood.
During the Red Flag warning conditions, we are in active fire response and local fire authorities may ask LADWP to de-energize power lines to protect public safety.
For our customers who live in high-risk fire areas, if you experience an outage, LADWP crews may not be able to automatically re-energize power lines serving you until it is safe to do so. We will not re-energize our power lines in high-fire risk areas until our crews have patrolled the entire circuit. We also have equipment affected by fire retardant that needs to be cleaned before we can re-energize these power lines.
Be Prepared! Customers in High Risk Areas May Experience Extended Outages Due to Fire Prevention
SUPPORTING THE FIRE RESPONSE
We continue taking every step available to support ongoing firefighting and restore water pressure to the Pacific Palisades area in advance of more high winds.
We are also supporting firefighting efforts with nineteen water tankers, each holding 2,000 to 4,000 gallons, running continuously to supply water to firefighters. They act like mobile fire hydrants and will continue as long as CALFIRE incident command needs them.
Encino, Lower Stone Canyon and the Hollywood Reservoirs, with six billion gallons of water have been critical in protecting lives and property. They will remain a critical part of the firefight and are fully available.
RESTORING WATER PRESSURE
Over 200 employees are working to restore water pressure in the Palisades area. They must first shut off services at homes and businesses that were destroyed by fire to restore system pressure by fixing customer and distribution system leaks and close all fire hydrants that were left open.
This will boost water pressure throughout the system, restoring flow to our storage tanks at higher elevation and pipes in the Palisades area.
As of 7am today, we have shut off services to 4,768 services in Pacific Palisades. And our efforts are showing that the system is refilling, but this process will take time as crews move from zone to zone repairing damage and closing our service connections.
At 7AM the 1-million-gallon Marquez Tank is about two-thirds full with 24 feet of water filled (out of 38 ft). We will continue work to refill our tanks and recharge our pipes throughout the Palisades.
DO NOT DRINK WATER NOTICE IN PALISADES AND ADJACENT AREAS
The Do Not Drink Notice for the Pacific Palisades 90272 zip code and the area north of San Vicente Blvd under evacuation orders was issued January 10, as required by state regulators for public health and safety. Until the notice is lifted, residents are advised not to drink or cook with the tap water, to limit the use of hot water and follow important instructions in the notice.
LADWP teams will be going door to door in the Palisades area with information for customers about how to comply with the Do Not Drink notice, and we have been posting guidance on social media and flyers posted throughout the area.
LADWP is distributing bottled water to affected customers at two locations:
- Westwood Recreation Center – Tuesday, January 14 until further notice – 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Adjacent to the Brentwood Country Club – Tuesday, January 14 through Wednesday, January 15 – 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE
To our customers whose lives have been impacted by these fires, we are here to support you and make sure that your utility bill is not a burden at this time. Please reach out to us at 1-800-DIAL-DWP so we can assist you in managing your bill. We know you have much more important needs right now, and we will be here when you are ready.
For anyone whose property has been destroyed, we understand that during this extremely difficult time, receiving billing notices can be especially stressful. We are pausing billing and reminder notices to areas directly affected by the fires and we encourage any customer experiencing hardship as a result of the fires to reach out to us.
We will have more information on additional assistance for our impacted customers soon.
LADWP REPRESENTATIVES MAY COME TO YOUR DOOR TO CHECK ON YOU AND YOUR POWER
During the current wildfire response, LADWP representatives are going door-to-door in many affected neighborhoods to check on customers and see if their power is back on, or if they’re still waiting for power to be restored. We are aware that scammers may use this opportunity to take advantage of customers in their vulnerable state. LADWP personnel will be wearing their uniforms or vest and will always carry a LADWP badge.
Please make sure to check LADWP badges and ask for further identification if you have any doubts as to the legitimacy of the person or persons at your door.
Safety is our No. 1 priority, during challenging times like these and always. Please reach out at 1-800-DIAL-DWP if you have any questions or need further assistance.
CORRECTING MISINFORMATION ABOUT LADWP’S WATER SYSTEM
Any assertion that fire hydrants in the Pacific Palisades were broken before the Palisades fire is misleading and false. LADWP works with LAFD who is responsible for inspecting fire hydrants citywide. LADWP repaired every hydrant needing repairs as reported by LA Fire Department inspectors. LADWP’s fire hydrant repair list was current and updated, and all reported fire hydrants were fully operational in the Pacific Palisades and in L.A.’s Westside communities prior to the fire.
No power was lost to LADWP pump stations during the fire, and water supply remained strong to the area. Water pressure in the system was lost due to unprecedented and extreme water demand to fight the wildfire without aerial support. This impacted our ability to refill the three water tanks supplying the Palisades. This impacted a low percentage of hydrants in the area, mostly in the higher elevations. As soon as LADWP identified the risk of losing water in the tanks and water pressure in the system, we immediately deployed potable water tankers to sustain support for firefighting efforts.
LADWP was required to take the Santa Ynez Reservoir out of service to meet safe drinking water regulations. To commission the support and resources to implement repairs to Santa Ynez, LADWP is subject to the city charter’s competitive bidding process which requires time.
The water system serving the Pacific Palisades area and all of Los Angeles meets all federal and state fire codes for urban development and housing. LADWP built the Pacific Palisades water system beyond the requirements to support the community’s typical needs. As we face the impacts of climate change and build climate resilience, we welcome a review and update of these codes and requirements if city water systems will be used to fight extreme wildfires. LADWP is initiating our own investigation about water resiliency and how we can enhance our posture to respond to the impacts of climate change.
POWER OUTAGE UPDATE
As of 7 am., January 15, 2025
Non-fire related:62 customers out.
Fire-related:17962 customers out.
Customers restored since start of storm: 342371
By City Council District (both single customer and area outages)
| District | Customers Out |
| 2 – Adrin Nazarian | 0 |
| 4 – Nithya Raman | 1 |
| 5 – Katy Young Yaroslavsky | 1618 |
| 8 – Marqueece Harris-Dawson | 28 |
| 11 – Traci Park | 14368 |
| 12 – John S. Lee | 3 |
| ## – Not Available | 1978 |
By Community (area outages only)
Metro
| Community | Customers Out |
| PACIFIC PALISADES | 8171 |
| BRENTWOOD | 7872 |
| OTHER | 297 |
| VERMONT SQUARE | 27 |
Valley
| Community | Customers Out |
| BRENTWOOD | 1251 |
| ENCINO | 367 |
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