Wildfires, dry hydrants and an empty reservoir

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. Here’s what you need to know to start your weekend:

• Problems with fire hydrants raise questions about how prepared L.A. was for this week’s wildfires.
• A flare-up of the Palisades fire forced more evacuations.
• Five easy exercises for your head and neck to alleviate desk job aches and pains.
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper.

A raging inferno and fire hydrants with no water

This morning we’ll take a look at the problems surrounding fire hydrants, which raise questions over how prepared local officials were for the devastating wildfires that have engulfed L.A. County. Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered an investigation into why the hydrants went dry.

But first, an update on the weather forecast: The region is expected to get a reprieve today from the powerful wind gusts that have amplified the destructive force of the blazes while also hampering firefighting efforts to contain them.

But forecasters warn that winds are expected to pick up on Sunday, which could be the start to as many as three Santa Ana wind events next week, my colleagues Rong-Gong Lin II and .

You can find more live updates about the wildfires and the efforts to contain them in this link.

L.A. County firefighter Scott Takeguma works to douse the flames on the remnants of a home in Altadena on Wednesday. You can find more photos here.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Firefighting crews have repeatedly been hindered by low water pressure and dry fire hydrants

These problems have exposed vulnerabilities in city water supply systems not built for wildfires on this scale, experts told my colleagues Ian James, Matt Hamilton and Ruben Vives.

Powerful winds forced officials to temporarily ground water-dropping aircraft.

As a result, firefighting efforts were confined to the resources on the ground, putting the water system under tremendous strain, said Janisse Quiñones, chief executive and chief engineer at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

The limits of the area’s water system raise significant questions as fires become larger and more intense. It’s unclear how officials will respond to the problem, but utilities need to consider how much water storage capacity they need to develop in neighborhoods on the urban fringes, like the hillsides, a water researcher told my colleagues.

The Santa Ynez Reservoir as seen from above in September 2022.

(Hayley Smith / Los Angeles Times)

A Pacific Palisades reservoir was offline and empty when a firestorm exploded

The Santa Ynez Reservoir was out of use and closed for repairs to its cover, leaving a 117-million-gallon water storage complex empty in the heart of the Palisades, my colleague Matt Hamilton reports.

The large reservoir, had it been operable, could have helped with extending water pressure in the Palisades on Tuesday night, but only for a time, a former DWP general manager told Hamilton.

“You still would have ended up with serious drops in pressure,” said Martin Adams, the former general manager. “Would Santa Ynez [Reservoir] have helped? Yes, to some extent. Would it have saved the day? I don’t think so.”

DWP is evaluating the full effect of the reservoir being placed offline, a spokesperson said.

The week’s biggest stories

Rick Nishiyama, 56, of Huntington Beach walks along Lake Avenue in Altadena, where he grew up, to check out the fire damage.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

A flare-up of the Palisades fire forced more evacuations as L.A. reels from staggering losses

• Los Angeles faced another tense night as the Palisades fire moved northeast, prompting new mandatory evacuations.
• Newsom invited President-elect Donald Trump to California to see the fire damage.
• Did Mayor Karen Bass really cut the fire department budget? The answer gets tricky.
• The massive wildfires will worsen the region’s housing affordability crisis through higher rents and challenges with insurance, construction, permits and more, experts said.
• California lawmakers consider expediting insurance claims.

A part-time actor claimed he created a COVID-19 cure. Now he’s going to prison

• Keith Lawrence Middlebrook was sentenced to more than eight years in federal prison for soliciting investors in companies that prosecutors said marketed a bogus cure and treatment for COVID-19.
• Middlebrook, who was convicted in May of 11 counts of wire fraud, claimed he had consulted with seven attorneys and eight doctors “from the very beginning, for a product of this magnitude.”

California moves to aid undocumented students as deportation fears surge

• California officials are moving quickly to protect undocumented immigrant students amid President-elect Donald Trump’s promises of mass deportations.
• Meanwhile, here’s a look at how legal immigration helped end the great California exodus.

The FDA sets limits for lead in many baby foods

• The agency set maximum levels for lead in baby foods in an effort to cut young kids’ exposure to the toxic metal, which causes developmental and neurological problems.
• The FDA guidance comes a week after a California law took effect that requires baby food makers selling products in the state to disclose levels of four heavy metals.

More big stories

• In labor-friendly California, 2025 ushers in more worker protections. Here’s what to know.
• The Supreme Court casts doubt on TikTok’s free speech defense as a shutdown law is set to take effect.
• Hiring picks up steam as employers add a quarter-million new jobs to close out the year.
• With bird flu still affecting egg prices, brunch in L.A. may soon cost more.
• Skip Bayless has been accused of offering a Fox Sports hairstylist $1.5 million for sex.
• ‘All hell will break out’: Three foreign policy takeaways from Trump.
  

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This week’s must reads

An Altadena resident’s body was found outside his destroyed home on Monterosa Drive with a garden hose still in his hand.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

A brother and sister made a fateful choice when fire approached. Only one survived. With the Eaton fire bearing down on an Altadena home, a brother and sister had to decide what to do. One left the scene. The other stayed behind. What happened next is a family tragedy.

More great reads

• ‘This is our house’: Mom and son fought off Palisades fire with pump, hose and pool water.
• There’s a reason you can’t stop doomscrolling through L.A.’s fire disaster.
• A woman who lost her home in the Eaton fire ‘has no more tears to cry.’

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected].

For your weekend

In “Undersigned,” guests are confronted with a handful of objects before meeting an actor to explore intimate and potentially difficult subject matter.

(Yannick Trapman-O’Brien)

Going out

• 🎭L.A.’s most intimate theater experience? You’re the only guest at this thrilling show.
• 💆‍♀️Get your back scratched and hair brushed at this cozy ASMR massage studio in L.A.
• 😋The best apple fritter in Southern California may be at a stand in Arcadia near the race track.

Staying in

• 💆Five easy exercises for your head and neck to alleviate desk job aches and pains.
• 🍲 Here’s a recipe for chickpea and escarole soup with crispy breadcrumbs.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

How well did you follow the news this week? Take our quiz.

(Times staff and wire photos)

Why are eggs so expensive in California? Plus nine other questions from our weekly news quiz.

Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team

Hunter Clauss, multiplatform editor
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor

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