Snapped electrical poles/lines may have contributed to the fire. This was taken on the Via de las Olas bluffs.
After suffering the devastating effects of the Palisades Fire, which left 12 dead and destroyed almost 7,000 structures, Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Fedlstein Soto has retained an outside law firm Munger Tolles & Olsen to defend the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
The three-year contract, $10 million contract, is, of course, being paid by residents of Los Angeles. Partners will charge $1,975 per hour and associates will bill $745 to $1,189 per hour. Yahoo News reported that “A spokesperson for Soto said this ‘discounted rate structure’ was among the factors that led to the selection of the firm.”
Ham Radio operators heard that at least three key DWP pumps failed. Hydrants were empty or had no pressure, making firefighting impossible. The Santa Ynez Reservoir was empty, and no one has reported on the status of the Chautauqua Reservoir, another large tank at the top of Chautauqua Boulevard, overlooking Will Rogers Park which had been emptied during the summer. And what about number of snapped electrical poles – had electricity been turned off in that area – given the severe Santa Ana wind warning?
Yahoo reported “In a memo discussing the firm’s scope of work, DWP Chief Executive Janisse Quiñones and general counsel Benjamin Chapman noted that Munger, Tolles & Olson lawyers have handled lawsuits related to several large wildfires.
“As part of the massive litigation from the 2023 fires in Maui, about 75 Munger Tolles staffers and lawyers helped represent Hawaiian Electric Industries and Hawaiian Electric Co., according to the law firm’s website. Those lawsuits were ultimately settled for more than $4 billion, although the payouts were held up after insurance companies opposed the deal.
“Munger Tolles also represented Pacific Gas & Electric Co. in connection with the 2018 Camp fire, which destroyed the town of Paradise and left 84 people dead. PG&E ultimately pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter. Munger Tolles also represented the utility in regulatory matters and litigation arising from the fire.”
At least five lawsuits with three dozen plaintiffs have been filed against the city in L.A. County Superior Court.
CTN has written about DWP and its corruption in the billing fiasco, which also resulted in people in the L.A. City Attorney’s office serving jail time.
https://www.circlingthenews.com/former-l-a-city-attorney-lawyer-pleads-guilty/
Residents were told there was no water to defend residences against the fire.
We live across the street from the empty Santa Ynez reservoir.
We’ve lived there for over 30 years. We hiked every day. We asked in the summer of 2024 if the reservoir was empty because it looked empty from the hiking trail above The Enclave HOA . I was told I was a “conspiracy theorist” and it was not empty. We have an organization called the presidents council in the Highlands. They recently interacted with the city when the Eldercare Center was built, did the presidents council of the highlands know that the reservoir was going to be empty? Because in early 2000s they interacted with the city when the reservoir was covered, there are pictures of members of PPCC when the reservoir was covered. My question – did Presidents Council or PPCC know that there was a rip in the cover and the reservoir was going “off- line”? Because NO ONE informed the residents of the highlands even AFTER a fire in December 2024 and the NYE fire 6 days before this big fire.
When is the head of DWP going to be fired?? Thank you Sue for always keeping us informed.