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Amended Lawsuit Blames LADWP and State Parks for Catastrophic Palisades Fire

The filing argues that multiple oversights by water utility and parks officials escalated a contained New Year blaze into Los Angeles’s deadliest wildfire.

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Damaged power equipment operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, pictured Jan. 8, 2025. The image was submitted in a lawsuit filed by fire victims against the city agency. 
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Damaged powerlines pictured Jan. 8, 2025 in the Palisades Fire burn scar, according to images submitted in a lawsuit fire victims filed against the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

Overview

  • The amended complaint filed July 9 in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges that energized LADWP powerlines ignited secondary blazes that accelerated the Palisades Fire’s spread.
  • Plaintiffs contend that LADWP’s prior draining of the 117-million gallon Santa Ynez Reservoir and delayed repairs deprived firefighting crews of water, forcing helicopters to spend more than six hours refilling far outside the fire zone.
  • The suit adds California State Parks for failing to monitor smoldering debris from the Jan. 1 Lachman Fire, which reignited on Jan. 7 to fuel the deadliest wildfire in Los Angeles history.
  • Attorneys allege an LADWP worker ignored a de-energization order for nearly five hours during critical firefighting operations and later attempted to alter computer logs to mask the delay.
  • LADWP has denied responsibility and will have weeks to file a formal response as both litigation and federal investigations into the fire’s cause move forward.