Pacific Palisades reservoir offline amid Los Angeles fires, state to conduct investigation: report

A reservoir in Pacific Palisades that contributes to the Los Angeles water supply was not functioning when massive wild fires broke out last week in Southern California, according to reports.

Officials told the Los Angeles Times that the Santa Ynez Reservoir had been closed for nearly a year while its cover was being repaired. 

As a result, the reservoir that could hold 117 million gallons of water was empty when the fires broke out. 

While firefighters in Los Angeles have been struggling to maintain control over the massive wildfires, there have been issues such as fire hydrants drying up.

As of Saturday morning, 12,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed, there are 11 confirmed deaths and more than 150,000 people are still under mandatory evacuation orders, according to the LA Times. 

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered an investigation into the empty reservoir as it has been closed since last February.

“We need answers to how that happened,” he wrote in a letter to L.A. County Public Works.