This is the reservoir that is at the top of Chautauqua, off the hiking trail that leads to Will Rogers Park. It was emptied this last summer.
It might have not only been the Santa Ynez reservoir that was empty, the Chautauqua Reservoir at the top of Chautauqua had also been emptied this past summer for repairs.
Resident after resident has said there were not enough firefighters and no aerial response by afternoon on January 7. One wrote: “I was wondering why the planes stopped dropping around 2:30 p.m. on the day of hell.” He continued “I have been saying to everyone on days one and two I did not see a single firefighter spraying water.
“I begged several to use neighbors pool pumps or even the hose to the house to put out spot fires. Each time I was told they were to stay in place. I saw hoses getting hooked up to hydrants and water coming out, no, not at normal psi velocity but enough to put out spot fires even in the horrendous winds……..”
A resident close to the fire on Paseo Miramar (and Santa Ynez) said that they were the first hit with embers from the Highlands around 10:30 a.m. on January 7 and that by 1:30 p.m. there was no water pressure left to fight the fire. The resident blamed it on a broken water main on their street that never was repaired – but most likely the empty reservoir, which held 117-million-gallons of water was a factor.
CHAUTAUQUA:
A resident who had lost her home on Chautauqua during the Palisades Fire shared a post “last summer, LADWP emptied the Chautauqua Reservoir at the top of Chautauqua Boulevard. I live on the street where the reservoir was emptied. During the emptying, water flowed down the streets for about two weeks.
“On trash collection days, LADWP workers moved trash cans away from the curb to prevent them from being swept away by the water, but many still ended up floating down the street.” Residents walked up to the reservoir and spoke to a LADWP worker who confirmed that the reservoir was being emptied for repairs.
CTN spoke to a LAFD firefighter, who said they had been notified by LADWP about the emptying of the reservoir, and once it was empty, they had walked in the huge tank.
Had the Chautauqua tank been refilled by January and how many gallons did it hold? DWP is now facing a lawsuit and not answering questions.
HIGHLANDS RESERVOIR:
Former LAPD Beach Patrol Officer Rusty Redican routinely patrolled areas in the hills, such as by the Santa Ynez Reservoir. This photo was taken on July 5, 2021.
A November 13, 2024, a brush fire near the Santa Ynez Reservoir and adjacent to Topanga State Park started at 9:50 a.m.
An hour later, LAFD reported that more than “60 firefighters on scene have stopped all forward progress. The precisely targeted, rapid water drops from LAFD Air Operations combined with the firefighter’s aggressive fire attack on the ground held the fire to approximately one acre (revised from initial size).”
Los Angele Fire Department Margaret Stewart told KTLA News that this area is a challenge because there are no hydrants, but that water tenders (large trucks carrying water) were being sent to the area. And wrote “Fortunately, we’re not in a Santa Ana event,” she said, “but the moisture level in our vegetation is critically low.”
A resident sent a query to CTN and asked why the Santa Ynez reservoir was empty. “In the past I’ve seen helicopters getting water from the reservoir.”
CTN asked local firefighters about the use of the reservoir and was told that federal and county helicopters did bucket dips from the reservoir, but city firefighters got their water from hydrants.
As has been reported in many sources, there was no water pressure, most probably because Santa Ynes has been dry. There is a photo taken of Rusty Redican, a former head of the LAPD Beach Patrol in July 2021, shows the reservoir was dry then. Had it ever been refilled?
TEMESCAL CANYON ROAD
Temescal Canyon Road was filled with water starting in mid-December.
Residents started complaining about the “Temescal River” that has been flowing down four lanes of Temescal Canyon Road starting in early December. It was reported to DWP but the leak was never fixed.
The running water was near the site of a $500 million in Proposition O money to treat stormwater.
The diversion system housed water underground at three sites in the canyon. Stormwater would go in a diversion tank (16 ft. by 12 ft. and 24 ft. deep), which is about a quarter of a way up the canyon (from PCH).
From that tank the water would drain into the hydrodynamic separator, while the cleaned water continues towards the beach to the holding tank.
The holding tank was constructed and buried under a playing field and the playground area (many may remember a worker was trapped and died in 2012, shutting construction down). This tank is 166 ft. by 66 ft. and 30 ft. deep.
Was the leak tied to the Prop O project, or was there a water main leak that was not fixed? Could that reservoir water be used in an emergency?
RESIDENT SAM LAGANA’s HOUSE SAVED WITH JACUZZI WATER
Sam Lagana
Photo: Rich Schmitt
Sam Lagana sent the following note to CTN:
A lot has been written locally and nationally about my home structure being saved. Please know that my heart bleeds for my neighbors who have lost their homes and memories Tuesday and Wednesday last week.
When I left from fighting fires, assisting fire trucks and police with directions in our “No Outlet” streets on Tuesday night at 11:30 p.m., my neighborhood of Jacon Way, lower Lachman and Via Santa Ynez were standing. Marquez elementary bungalow at Jacon and Marquez was the first building on fire on campus at 11:30 p.m.
On Wednesday, at 1 p.m. when I was able to return via bike to assess the situation, I found my neighbors homes ruined as well as 80% of the upper bungalows on campus. I was crushed. As I approached my home which was standing, all vegetation on three sides was torched, fires were just taking homes on Jacon coming down the hill from above and my next-door neighbors recently remodeled home was ablaze with strong winds blowing flames and fire at my house.
I found a number of people on my property with garden hoses and using buckets of water from my jacuzzi to help stop the fire by attacking flames and putting out spot fires on the house. I joined them in an effort to save my home while struggling to witness homes destroyed of my long time neighbors and friends.
I want to thank those I know who helped stop the fire on my house and to those I don’t know who helped. The people I know are: Juan Fregoso, Sean Silva, Trey Grogen with Councilwoman Traci Parks office, and neighbors Frank Webb, Matt McPeak and Vinod Pakianathan.
Very curious to know why these reservoirs needed repairs? What sort of repairs? To be completed in what time frame? What was the contingency plan in case of a fire?
I heard Palos Verdes reservoir was also empty. Hopefully they manage illegal homeless encampments within hills and teenage delinquents with fireworks and explosives better than we did. I did alert CD11 to let their counterparts in PV know to check water status
Would be a shame if city after city burnt to ashes. With government agencies like this who needs terrorists to wipe out entire populations? The fall of Palisades and the fall of Rome now will go down as equally historic atrocities.
Palisades needs to wake up to the fact that LADWP had senior management as well as board of commissioners who had NO experience in water management but only care about emptying reservoirs for the environment and re-directing the water to the inter-city. One of the commissioners goal when appointed openly stated,
She would, “center equity, environmental justice, and worker justice in her new appointment as the next Commissioner of LADWP.”, (her words, not mine).
This person has no engineering nor water background but is friends with Karen Bass , Maxine Waters and is a lawyer. Don’t blame the employees, look at the top of leadership, ALL must GO – Wilma Pindar and Karen Bass must resign, neither are qualified to be in these important positions, they’re work has burned my town down.