The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) failed to inform the city's Department of Water and Power (DWP) about over 1,000 damaged fire hydrants until mid-February, despite discovering the issues months earlier. This lapse came to light after the devastating Palisades fire, which left firefighters struggling with low water pressure. The DWP, reliant on LAFD for annual inspections, received no indication of hydrant issues in its August report. It was only following a KCBS-TV report that DWP received a complete list of the damaged hydrants, raising concerns about communication failures during emergencies.
"The report we received on [Feb. 14] was completely different than the report we received in August. That was the first time we saw the 'needs repair.'"
"Any assertion that LADWP received information [about damage] and didn't do anything regarding the hydrants is incorrect," added Anselmo Collins, chief of DWP's water operations.
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