Two Senate Republicans have opened yet another investigation into the deadly Palisades fire, adding to a long list of ongoing probes aimed at determining whether local officials prepared sufficiently for the emergency.<\/p>\n
The investigation will look at whether emergency preparations were sufficient, including an examination of whether there was enough reservoir water to respond to the deadly wildfire.<\/p>\n
Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin announced Monday that they were leading the congressional investigation, which they said is necessary to \u201cuncover and expose the truth\u201d about how the state and local governments responded to the major blaze, which broke out amid hurricane-force winds and quickly overwhelmed firefighting resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cFamilies in this community deserve answers and accountability,\u201d Scott and Johnson wrote in a joint statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n The new probe is the latest in a string of ongoing investigations into the start of the fire and how officials responded. It comes eight months after the fire broke out on Jan. 7<\/a>, killing 12 and largely destroying Pacific Palisades. That same day, the Eaton fire erupted in Altadena, killing 19 people and devastating the foothill community. <\/p>\n The congressional investigation appears to focus only on the Palisades fire, and will look specifically at what water resources were \u2014 or weren\u2019t \u2014 available, and why.<\/p>\n The Times first reported<\/a> that the Santa Ynez Reservoir, located in the heart of Pacific Palisades, was empty when the fire broke out, and remained that way as firefighters experienced dry hydrants and water pressure issues<\/a>. The 117-million-gallon water storage complex had been closed for repairs to its cover for nearly a year, officials said. <\/p>\n After The Times\u2019 reporting on the reservoir, Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered an investigation<\/a> into the city\u2019s water system and how it may have hampered firefighting efforts. <\/p>\n Times reporting also exposed poor preparation and deployment<\/a> by the Los Angeles Fire Department, even as city officials were repeatedly warned about life-threatening winds and red flag conditions. Top brass at the agency decided not to deploy roughly 1,000 available firefighters and dozens of water-carrying engines in advance of the Palisades fire.<\/p>\n The announcement of this federal investigation comes a few weeks after Scott \u2014 the former governor of hurricane-prone Florida \u2014 met with former reality star Spencer Pratt to tour some of the areas destroyed by the Palisades fire. At the time of their meeting, Pratt, who lost a home in the fire, was demanding a congressional investigation \u2014 an action that Scott said he would do his \u201cbest to make sure it happens.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Pratt has also sued the city<\/a>, alleging it failed to maintain an adequate water supply and other infrastructure. <\/p>\n In recent weeks, Scott has sent letters to several agencies seeking answers about how California used federal funds for wildfire management and response. In an August letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Scott said it appeared that the state and the city of Los Angeles had not used the agency\u2019s funds \u201cwisely or appropriately.\u201d<\/p>\n The response to the January firestorm, particularly in the Palisades, has become a polarizing topic \u2014 and rife with misinformation<\/a> \u2014among national and local political leaders, from President Trump<\/a> to developer Rick Caruso, a former mayoral contender against L.A.\u2019s current mayor, Karen Bass. Caruso, who owns Palisades Village mall, became an immediate critic of the city\u2019s response, blasting officials for struggling to meet water demands during the fire fight. <\/p>\n