Two California judges file suit against LADWP, saying utility failed to prepare, respond to fire
Two federal judges who lost their Pacific Palisades homes in the January firestorm have joined hundreds of their neighbors in suing the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, claiming the utility failed to properly prepare for the wildfire and respond when it broke out.
U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson, who currently sits on the Central District of California's court, and Vijay 'Jay' Gandhi, who served as a magistrate judge in the same court, filed the lawsuit last week along with their families.
The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that the Palisades conflagration 'was caused by both LADWP's water and power assets, specifically empty reservoirs and energized powerlines.'
The lawsuit cites reporting from The Times that found LADWP's Sana Ynez Reservoir, located in the Palisades, sat empty during the firefight, having been closed months prior for repairs.
'Despite dire warnings by the National Weather Service of a 'Particularly Dangerous Condition-Red Flag Warning,' of 'critical fire weather' which had the potential for rapid fire spread and extreme fire behavior, the LADWP was unprepared for the Palisades fire,' the complaint said.
A request for comment from L.A.-based law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson, which was hired by LADWP to handle Palisades fire litigation, was not immediately answered. LADWP's most recent statement about pending litigation said it expects plaintiffs to continue to join such lawsuits, but it dismissed claims that the utility provider wasn't prepared and could be held responsible for the fire.
'While our crews and system were prepared for situations that might strain the system, no urban water system is designed to combat a massive, wind-driven wildfire of the speed and scale presented by the historically destructive Palisades Fire,' the statement said, an explanation that several experts have backed up.
The utility also said that 'long settled law and precedent prevent water utilities, and their rate payers, from being liable for wildfire losses.'
The current and former federal judges who filed the suit as residents, not in any official capacity, disagree with that line of defense. One of the judges worked as a mediator in prior fire settlements between Pacific Gas & Electric and residents.
'The city must stand up and claim responsibility and do right by the residents of the Palisades. And that's why I joined this battle,' Gandhi, who worked as the mediator, said in an interview with the Los Angeles Daily News. He called the Palisades fire a 'manifestation of risks that were widely known but ignored. And the city needs to acknowledge that, because it can't happen again.'
The judges' lawsuit was recently consolidated with more than 10 other similar cases against LADWP, brought by more than 750 other residents, according to one of the attorneys working on the cases, Alexander Robertson. The long list of cases against the utility continue to pile up as homeowners seek compensation for damage they believe was caused by the utility's mismanagement of water resources or its power lines.
The suit also alleges that most of LADWP power lines remained energized during the fire, causing 'additional ignitions and fires in Pacific Palisades during a predicted Santa Ana wind event, ... [which] accelerated the rapid spread of the Palisades Fire,' the complaint says.
LADWP 'knew about the significant risk wildfires posed in the event of ineffective infrastructure management, delayed repairs, unsafe equipment, and/or aging infrastructure decades before the Palisades Fire,' the complaint said. It called the nearby reservoirs and electric lines public necessities, saying that 'failure of one critical infrastructure can potentially have a domino effect.'
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Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Yahoo
Officials look to quell Pacific Palisades residents' security concerns after PCH fully reopens
In the wake of the Palisades Fire in January, Pacific Coast Highway between L.A. and Malibu was shut down for months – except for local residents, businesses and emergency crews – due to damage from the fire and subsequent mudslides, and now that the critical stretch of coastal highway is open, those living in the area are worried about security. Officials, however, are ensuring that all precautions are taken as more and more people travel through the area. PCH officially reopened on Friday, ahead of schedule and just in time for Memorial Day weekend. Up to two lanes are open in each direction with a 25-mile-per-hour speed limit through active work zones, and security checkpoints along the highway have been removed as the California National Guard demobilizes from the area. As PCH reopens, Malibu urges beachgoers to be safe and respectful Speed limits and worker safety aren't the only things on residents' and officials' minds. Burglaries and thefts in wildfire-affected areas have increased (including in the Eaton Fire burn zone in Altadena, where officials say burglaries are up 'several hundred percent'), and now that the general public is back in the area, concerns are heightened. One way that local leaders are looking to ease those concerns is the decision to hire a private security firm that will provide 24/7 armed patrols in neighborhoods affected by both the Palisades and Franklin fires, officials announced. Approved on May 21 by the Malibu City Council, Covered 6 was chosen since the firm has 'extensive experience patrolling neighborhoods' and that they have worked with local deputies in the past. The service will cost roughly $260,000 per month. Speaking on the price tag at the city council meeting, one resident opined that 'it's a lot of money to spend…but I think it's a time to spend it.' Los Angeles officials tout record progress in Palisades Fire recovery as homes start to be rebuilt 'The patrols are intended to supplement law enforcement efforts by the LASD Malibu-Lost Hills Station and ensure continuous public safety coverage during a critical recovery phase,' Malibu officials said on May 22. 'Fire-damaged areas face heightened risks of burglary, vandalism, theft – particularly of construction materials – as many properties remain vacant during rebuilding.' 'Looter suppression efforts will be intensified, with zero-tolerance to crime and traffic violations,' officials added, piggybacking off Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman's policy on wildfire looters. During the May 21 Malibu City Council meeting, Scott Wagenseller, the founder and CEO of another private security firm, Gates Security, said that on the previous day, officers with his company found a man with a gun in the backyard of one of their clients' homes. Another man was found with a knife, and a 'squatter issue' involving a man on a previously burned property had recently been resolved. 'These are transients walking into the environment,' Wagenseller said. 'Raise Pali' golf tournament supports wildfire recovery efforts for local high school Residents are encouraged to 'take an active role' in protecting their properties by filling out a Letter of Agency at the Malibu-Lost Hills LASD station; the document authorizes deputies to enforce trespassing laws on private property in the owner's absence and officers to take action against unauthorized individuals without contacting the property owner first, the Malibu City Council said. Property owners are also asked to secure their property by ensuring that gates, doors and windows are locked. Any suspicious activity should be reported to authorities. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
San Francisco Chronicle
21-05-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
Exclusive footage: Deadly Palisades Fire may have grown from this Jan. 1 blaze
A newly released video that captures the ignition of the Palisades Fire on Jan. 7 provides further evidence the disastrous Los Angeles County blaze was possibly the rekindling of a fire from days earlier, according to four wildfire investigation experts who reviewed the footage. The footage, obtained by the Chronicle and made public here for the first time, shows that the two wildfires broke out in very close proximity: the small Lachman Fire on New Year's Day and, six days later, the Palisades, which killed a dozen people and destroyed more than 6,800 structures in Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Topanga. 'You could see from the terrain it was in the same area,' said Tom Pierce, a certified fire investigator who has conducted more than 2,000 fire investigations, after reviewing the new video at the Chronicle's request. Federal and local investigators collected the footage as evidence in ongoing investigations; the Chronicle received it through a records request. 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Six minutes later, the footage captures a flash of light midway up the hillside among a thicket of tall chaparral bushes, potentially from a firework ember cast, two experts said. Sallus also indicated this was the general location where he spotted the flash of fireworks on Jan. 1. The first flash of flames came to life in the video 13 minutes after midnight. The camera — equipped with technology to detect wildfires — noticed the unusual activity, stopped its rotation and homed in on the fire growing larger with homes nearby. Firefighters stopped that blaze, but the same wouldn't be true six days later. On Jan. 7, billowing smoke triggered the camera to halt its 360-degree vigilance and focus on signs of fire on the brush-covered hillside. The smoke rose higher as clouds raced across a blue sky. Soon the whole hillside was ablaze.
CBS News
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- CBS News
New video suggests Palisades Fire ignition point burned just days earlier
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