About 7,000 homes and businesses were destroyed in the Palisades Fire. A federal probe is looking into probable culpability by L.A. City.
Senators Rick Scott (R- Fla.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) sent a letter to Council President Harris-Dawson on October 20 asking for documents on Los Angeles Fire Department staffing, wildfire preparations, among other topics related to the devastating Palisades Fire, with a November 3 deadline.
According to my newsLA.com “The senators also focused on the city’s ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ hiring policies at the fire department and the Department of Water and Power. Additionally, the probe sought information regarding the removal of former Fire Chief Kristin Crowley.”
City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto on October 22, asked the L.A City council to approve a $750,000 contract with Munger, Tolles, & Olson LLP, over the federal probe. Initially, if the contract had been approved, the money to pay the law firm would have come out of the general fund. Councilmembers 7-5 voted to deny approval of that contract.
After agreeing that money would not come out of the general fund for Munger, Tolles, & Olson, members voted 11-0 on October 28 to advance the contract, which goes to Mayor Karen Bass for a signature. Council members Adrin Nazarian, Imelda Padilla, Traci Park and Curren Price were absent during the vote.
L.A. City General Fund money, which is funded by property, business and sales tax and by licenses, permits and fees, is used to pay police and fire departments, retirement and pensions and payouts for liability claims click here.
For example, the city agreed in May 2025 to pay $900,000 to Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher over a two-year period to defend Mayor Karen Bass in a homelessness lawsuit. Since then, more than $4.97 million in legal fees has been attributed to Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. The City Council voted 10-3 on September 17 to authorize the City Attorney’s Office to augment the law firm’s contract, which covers the 2025-2026 fiscal year
Included in the possible federal probe is DWP for its failure to keep the reservoirs full and hydrants working.
Legally who is responsible for LADWP, which is a department of the city?
DWP is overseen by a five-member Board of Water and Power Commissioners who are appointed by the L.A. Mayor and confirmed by the LA. City Council.
The funding for DWP comes solely from electric and water bills, not by city taxes. However, DWP annually transfers hundreds of millions of dollars to the City’s general fund. According to internet sources, the amount has routinely been around $250 million for several years. This transfer is a long-standing policy where 8% of the LADWP’s revenue is given to the city’s general fund. A transfer of $219.3 million in surplus revenue was authorized around early 2025.
Residents pay taxes, and electrical/water bills. That money will now be used by the City to defend itself against lawsuits.
The sad reality is that we the victims will pay for the mistakes made that caused the calamity by higher insurance premiums, higher utilities bills, and higher taxes. This is the problem of allowing unqualified individuals to be in charge of critical infrastructure. According to the LA Times, the individual who made the decision to “roll up the fire hoses’ while the burn scar was smoldering still has his job. He should be fired from the LAFD, as well as the Chief. We still have unqualified individuals who made these fatal decisions still running the LAFD.
The individual who ordered firefighters to “roll up the fire hoses’ while the Palisades burn scar was still smoldering MUST be held accountable, and removed from the LAFD.