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WASHINGTON (TNND) — Los Angeles’ water chief reportedly knew about an empty reservoir and broken fire hydrants months before the deadly wildfires now spreading across the city that have left some communities in ashes.
The Daily Mail reports the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) CEO Janisse Quiñones was hired by Mayor Karen Bass on a $750,000 salary in May.
Now, LA Fire Department insiders are blaming Quiñones for a nearby reservoir disconnection and broken fire hydrants, the outlet reports, claiming this has led to firefighters running out of water.
The Mail reports that Quiñones’ past employer was linked to fire scandals. Quiñones previously held a top executive role at electric company PG&E. The company previously went bankrupt over liability for several California wildfires, the outlet reports.
Quiñones reportedly oversaw the emptying of the Santa Ynez Reservoir in the Pacific Palisades area during bushfire season, sources told the outlet.
The reservoir was designed to hold 117 million gallons of water, but was taken offline recently to fix a tear in the cover, the LA Times reported Friday.
Former DWP general manager Martin Adams told the Times that having the reservoir would have helped fight the Palisades Fire.
An LAFD source told The Daily Mail that DWP officials said “Had it not been closed they probably would have been okay and had enough water for the fire.”
During a press conference amid the fires this week, Quiñones said fire crews ran out of water due to “low pressure in the system,” because they were using water faster than it was being replenished. The source, a former LAFD senior official told the Mail lack of water was a “common” problem, with a failure by DWP to fix fire hydrants.
A current LAFD member told the outlet some fire hydrants were not working in the Palisades area during the fires this week.
The Mail reports that Quiñones’ past employer was linked to fire scandals. Quiñones previously held a top executive role at electric company PG&E. The company previously went bankrupt over liability for several California wildfires, the outlet reports.
The fires have burned more than 12,000 homes and other structures when they first began popping up around a densely populated, 25-mile (40-kilometer) expanse north of downtown LA. At least 11 people have been killed, with five from the Palisades Fire and six from the Eaton Fire, according to the LA County medical examiner’s office.
No cause has been identified yet for the largest fires.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
