LOS ANGELES (April 23, 2025) — Our hearts remain with all who have been devastated by the Palisades Fire. While our crews and system were prepared for situations that might strain the system, no urban water system is designed to combat a massive, wind-driven wildfire of the speed and scale presented by the historically destructive Palisades Fire, particularly in conditions that preclude aerial firefighting support.
The water system that serves the Pacific Palisades area and all of Los Angeles met and continues to meet all fire codes for urban development and housing and was built to exceed those standards to support the community’s needs. This includes open-air reservoirs that LADWP has maintained online to support aerial firefighting, which was instrumental in providing life- and property-saving support throughout the firefighting effort.
LADWP understands the enormous destruction caused by the fires and the rights of affected property owners to seek compensation for damages from insurers and responsible parties. It is expected to see plaintiffs joining lawsuits at this early stage to preserve their claims. However, long settled law and precedent prevent water utilities, and their rate payers, from being liable for wildfire losses. Fire codes and regulators determine the capacity of public water systems to fight fires, and LADWP’s system exceeded those standards.
It is important to know that when infrastructure is offline for maintenance or repairs it is a regular operational need of a public water system and is crucial for maintaining safe drinking water standards for the communities served by LADWP reservoirs. Our system is designed with redundancies to allow for components to be periodically taken offline—not as a flaw, but as a fundamental aspect of responsible and diligent system management.
As we confront 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 combat extreme wildfires.
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