No one said that it’s a blue state or a red State problem. It was stated that it’s a one-party rule problem. There is no accountability whenever you have a one-party rule. They just figure a place to sweep it under the rug. And that will happen here, just wait.
I watched a financial channel early this morning. He thinks it’s going to be over 30 or 40 billion in total costs for just the LAFD and LAC fires.
Sorry it was 0330 when I watched it.
You’re missing a zero in that number
I don’t understand why the head of LA City Department of Water and Power is not been mentioned at sll. This failure lays at their feet. In preparing for the wind event, did DWP not advise the LAFD that the one reservoir was dry and did their department have a plan in case their tanks would run low or dry. That process was a DWP issue, not the LAFD or the Mayors responsibility.
Not crazy about their mayor they have but heard of state, Congress, House members , Governors, Department heads going on outings all the time to attend junkets, fact findings, meeting’s and conferences all the time. That’s why they have people to answer in their absence. And they all take their cell phones and contacts phone numbers with them. Most departments can function in their bosses absence since they can talk to their boss or staff should any issue arise. Even the president takes a vacation once in a while and they carry a phone AND they all seem to like football done they take one every they go. And Obama even took a basketball too!
According to Google quick search (I make no claim of accuracy)
WTC $36 BBN
Katrina $201
Harvey $160
Ian $120
Maria $115
Sandy $89
Camp fire $13BBN
Current LA fires might be $150B according to some random news site, we’ll see
To your second point:
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Santa Ana season is November-February, or slightly longer. It’s not really reasonable to say the mayor can’t/shouldn’t leave the city for 3+ months because one of these events may cause a calamitous fire. Especially if that logic’s expanded to other fire months of July-Sept. Optically, sure it makes sense to cancel a trip just in case. Practically, it doesn’t matter and the criticism for that is people reactively looking to blame someone rather than move forward with lessons and solutions.
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The reservoir has been closed since February (When L.A. fires broke out, the 117-million gallon Santa Ynez Reservoir near Pacific Palisades was empty. Here's what we know. - CBS News). It can’t be drained and empty for 11 months without coinciding with offshore wind events.
This more general, not in response to your comment, but I’m in LA and really frustrated with the amount of finger pointing and blame casting that’s happening. It’s counterproductive, spreads misinformation, and does nothing to make the city and state better prepared to withstand the next inevitable catastrophic fire.
I would add to your points regarding misinformation… Having been taught about the Hauling Chart as a key concept in fire behavior and suppression techniques, it seems like any argument about lack of water for ground and even aviation resources is not really relevant to fire growth- maybe for salvaging some structures on the peripheries of runs, but not really a needle mover in terms of the scale of the disaster that has occurred.
Tacking on to your comments on the reservoir. They didn’t have any choice about when to empty the reservoir. It is directly connected to the potable water supply. The cover tore and the water became contaminated. There was no way to save the water in the reservoir without contaminating the entire domestic water supply for the area.
But the reservoir has been offline for 10 months with no sign of any construction to fix it. I would think that would be an emergency fix. Not a lets take our time.
I don’t like the mayor but the trip was requested by the White House and payed for by the WH with short notice by them. Just like our leaders in all the states when they are out of the country they have a vice mayor who is in charge and they are in constant contact with there boss. She doesn’t have to be there to give direction. All needs is a phone.
guys , do a little investigation. The last time that reservr held water was December of 2009 and has been bone dry for 16 years. Use google earth and the history mode on the sat pics.
So what you’re saying is the reservoir irrelevant? Not lining up why your response was to me.
My simple point was 117 million gallons would’ve been relevant to supplying the hydrants
Not for fire behavior
Cheers
What you are “seeing” is the roof of the reservoir. Its not dry, the water is under the roof.
There is a membrane on the stop that maintains the water as potable water, it had a tear in it which made the water at risk. So they drained it
But had not done any repairs
When was it drained?
Ive seen reporting of 6 months and 9 months, I have no idea. Didnt seem like a priority to LADWP to me
February this year per reports and those links I provided on original post
February 2024
The whole DWP angle could take up pages of comments. I have 2 close friends who are DWP employees and taking a long time to finish a major project (much less getting started on one) is par for the course. And FWIW, after the 1971 Northridge earthquake, DWP closed many of its reservoirs: Chatsworth, Lower Van Norman, Dry Canyon (Santa Clarita), Fairmont (Antelope Valley) come to mind offhand. Some have been replaced with much smaller reservoirs (Van Norman & Fairmont), while others have not. DWP capacity is a shell of what it once was.