by Connor Sheets at Los Angeles Times
- Records show L.A. County missed dozens of opportunities for water infrastructure improvements that experts say likely would have helped firefighters during the Palisades fire.
- Some of the long-delayed projects were specifically aimed at improving “fire flow” and ensuring enough water during emergencies.
- A county official said that the water system “performed as designed” during the Palisades fire, and that additional water would have saved “relatively few homes.”
Los Angeles County officials missed dozens of opportunities for water infrastructure improvements that experts say probably would have enabled firefighters to save more homes during the Palisades fire, public records show.
As crews battled the blaze, attempting to extinguish flames that burned huge swaths of L.A. County and killed at least 11 people, some hydrants ran dry.
The lack of water has been a concern at both the city and county levels, and has come under scrutiny since the wildfire broke out Jan. 7. L.A. city officials, for example, have scrambled to explain why the 117-million-gallon Santa Ynez Reservoir was left empty for maintenance…