Billionaire developer Rick Caruso, who ran unsuccessfully in the 2022 mayoral race against Karen Bass, faces water service disruptions as Pacific Palisades fires destroy millions of dollars of real estate. He said it was “an absolute mismanagement by the city.”
“There's no water in the Palisades. There's no water coming out of the fire hydrants. This is complete mismanagement on the part of the city. It's not the firefighters' fault, it's the city's fault,” said Caruso, a former mayoral candidate. Fox11 Los Angeles.
“The mayor is out of the country, the city is on fire, and we don't have the resources to put out the fire,” Caruso added. “It's like we're in a third world country.”
FOX 11 reported that the bus is now returning to California. The mayor is reportedly on a pre-planned trip to Africa.
Caruso said the public should ask mayors, city councils and county representatives, “Why haven't we done something to mitigate this? What was the brush mitigation program?”
California wildfires rage across Los Angeles County, forcing thousands to evacuate their homes
He argued that the problem was not the lack of rain, but that the bushes had probably been left untended for decades.
Torrance firefighters respond to the Palisades Fire on January 8, 2025. Fast-moving wildfires have forced 30,000 people to evacuate, and authorities have warned that worsening winds could cause the blazes to spread further. (John Putman/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“It's all these people and their homes that are paying the price,” Caruso added.
Janice Quiñones, chief executive and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP), said all fire hydrants in the Palisades were “dry” by 3 a.m. Wednesday.
“There were tremendous demands on our system in the Palisades. We pushed the system to its limits,” he said, according to the newspaper. Los Angeles Times. “We saw demand four times higher than normal for 15 straight hours and water pressure dropped.”
Caruso, a former DWP commissioner and owner of the Palisades Village Mall on the West Side, added that firefighters are on the scene, but without water as businesses and homes burn, “there's nothing that can be done. No,” he claimed.
On January 7, 2025, a wildfire burns near a home in Pacific Palisades, California. (David Swanson/AFP via Getty Images)
Raging Palisade fire destroys high school featured in multiple Hollywood movies
“This is a window into systemic problems in the city, not just mismanagement, but outdated infrastructure,” Caruso said.
Caruso evacuated her home in Brentwood Wednesday morning and said her daughter's home had already been destroyed by the fire. His family was still waiting for news about what happened to their son's home.
Torrance firefighters are seen getting ready to fight the Palisades Fire as residents try to flee the scene in Pacific Palisades, California, January 8, 2025. (John Putman/Anadolu via Getty Images)
He said several homes around his shopping center were “fully engulfed” by the flames, and the mall itself was damaged.
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“The city of Los Angeles' chronic underinvestment in public infrastructure and public safety partners is clear and on full display over the past 24 hours,” Los Angeles City Council member Tracy Park said at a news conference Wednesday alongside Quiñones. said. “I'm very concerned about this. I'm already working with my team to look into this in detail, but I think we have more questions than answers at this point.”
