Newsom Now Calling for Investigation into Limited Wildfire Water Supply
It seems California Gov. Gavin Newsom has taken a break from “Trump-proofing” the state and whining about wildfire disinformation to actually address one of the most critical failures of the ongoing Los Angeles wildfire disaster.
My Legal Insurrection colleague Mary Chastain reported that an important Pacific Palisades water resource, the Santa Ynez Reservoir, was empty and offline when the massive blaze struck the area. This was clearly a factor in the fire hydrants running dry during the fire response.
Now Newsom has ordered an investigation into the Los Angeles Department of Water of Power over this disastrous development.
In the letter addressed to LADWP Chief Executive Officer and Chief Engineer Janisse Quiñones and L.A. County Public Works Director Mark Pestrella, Newsom wrote, “The ongoing reports of loss of water pressure to some local fire hydrants during the fires and the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir are deeply troubling to me and to the community.”“We need answers to how that happened,” Newsom continued, explaining his decision to order an independent investigation from state water and fire officials examining the causes of lost water supplies and water pressure.
It might be worthwhile to note that parts of the greater Los Angeles area encompass portions of two desert regions, the Mojave Desert and the Colorado Desert. While the basin itself has a Mediterranean-type climate, the entire region is quite dry.
Therefore, the water infrastructure should have been expanded to accommodate the growing population and to address the potential for wildfires, which have historically occurred. They were not, and there are now consequences.
“While water supplies from local fire hydrants are not designed to extinguish wildfires over large areas, losing supplies from fire hydrants likely impaired the effort to protect some homes and evacuation corridors,” Newsom wrote. “We need answers to how that happened.The limitations of local water systems complicated firefighting efforts in Pacific Palisades, where scores of fire hydrants were left with little or no water, and in Altadena and Pasadena, which are served by different utilities and where firefighters say they have grappled with low water pressure.The problems have exposed what experts say are limitations in city water supply systems not built for wildfires on this scale. Water researchers and experts have said the system that supplies neighborhoods doesn’t have the capacity to deliver such large volumes of water over several hours.
At this point, it must be assumed Newsom is looking for someone to throw under the point to salvage his future political career. He may target the $750,000-a-year LA water czar, Water and Power (LADWP) CEO Janisse Quiñones.
Now, Quiñones is being blamed by LA Fire Department (LAFD) insiders for leaving a nearby reservoir disconnected and fire hydrants broken for months, DailyMail.com can reveal, leading to firefighters running out of water as they battled the devastating Palisades Fire this week.And, Daily Mail.com has learned, Quiñones past employer is also linked to fire scandals. She was previously a top executive at electricity company PG&E, which went bankrupt over liability for several massive wildfires in California.She served as senior vice president at Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) from 2021 to 2023.The utility company’s power lines sparked the second-largest wildfire in California history, Dixie, in 2021. Its involvement in the 2018 Camp Fire cost PG&E a $13.5billion legal settlement.The firm’s liability for allegedly causing fires was estimated at $30billion when it filed for bankruptcy in 2018. It exited bankruptcy in 2020.
And while the move may have once worked for Newsom under the old media, I do not think it will be successful. In fact, it is already being mocked.
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