{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.rickscott.senate.gov/2025/10/sen-rick-scott-chair-ron-johnson-request-records-from-ladwp-for-congressional-investigation-into-pacific-palisades-wildfire", "Sen. Rick Scott, Chair Ron Johnson Request Records from LADWP for Congressional Investigation into Pacific Palisades Wildfire", "2025-10-03", "2025", "2025-10", "Republican", "Senate", "FL", "Rick Scott", "S001217", "www.rickscott.senate.gov", "rickscott", "https://www.rickscott.senate.gov/press-releases/", "page_html", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, Senator Rick Scott and Senator Ron Johnson, chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), sent a letter to Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) Chief Executive Officer and Chief Engineer Janisse Qui\u00f1ones and Board of Water and Power Commissioners President Richard Katz requesting records and information related to LADWP\u2019s preparedness and response to the Pacific Palisades wildfire in January 2025. This comes as public reports have raised questions about critical water systems necessary for fire suppression and the potential mismanagement of reservoirs, which led to a lack of water on the day when residents in Los Angeles County needed it most.\n\nThe senators\u2019 letter is the latest in their ongoing congressional investigation into the deadly Palisades fire that devastated the Pacific Palisades community in Los Angeles, resulting in billions of dollars in property damage and the tragic loss of life. This follows a letter sent last month to Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) Fire Chief Kristin Crowley and interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva, requesting information on the LAFD\u2019s response to the Palisades fire.\n\nRead the letter to Chief Executive Officer and Chief Engineer Qui\u00f1ones and Board of Water and Power Commissioners President Katz below or HERE.\n\nDear Ms. Qui\u00f1ones and Mr. Katz:\n\nIn January 2025, Los Angeles County, California, was devastated by a number of wildfires, including the Palisades fire, which caused billions of dollars in damage to homes and businesses and resulted in loss of life.[1] Public reports have raised questions about Los Angeles\u2019s wildfire preparations and the response to the January 2025 wildfires, including the Palisades fire. For example, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power\u2019s (\u201cLADWP\u201d[2]) July 2025 preliminary report identified issues with critical water systems necessary for fire suppression, including loss of pressure to fire hydrants.[3] There have also been other allegations that the mismanagement of reservoirs led to a lack of water on the day that residents in Los Angeles County needed it most.[4]\n\nPursuant to Senate Resolution 94 (119th Cong.), the United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (the \u201cSubcommittee\u201d) is conducting a review of Los Angeles\u2019s wildfire mitigation and suppression efforts, including the response to the Palisades fire. In order to assist the Subcommittee in its review, please provide the following information and records. Unless otherwise stated, the period of time for this request shall be February 1, 2022, to present.\n\nAll records[5] referring or relating to wildfire response between December 28, 2024, and the present, including but not limited to the response to the Palisades and Lachman fires, as well as all communications to or from LADWP Regulatory Affairs Manager John Kemmerer.\n\nAll records referring or relating to maintenance, inspection, or repairs of infrastructure, including but not limited to communications referring or relating to any decision to forgo any maintenance or repairs.\n\nAll records referring or relating to wildfire prevention, mitigation, and response measures, including but not limited to:\n\nFunding and budget requests;\n\nTraining;\n\nCritical technology replacement;\n\nStaffing increases;\n\nImprovements, inspections, or maintenance of facilities and infrastructure;\n\nStandard operating procedures for communications during a wildfire;\n\nAfter-action reports from the 2025 Palisades fire; and\n\nWater tenders.\n\nAll records referring or relating to water supply and delivery between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2025, including but not limited to:\n\nSufficiency of water supply to the Palisades;\n\nThe Westgate Trunk Line along Sunset Boulevard;\n\nFire hydrant systems, including pressure assessments;\n\nPumping stations, including communications on pumping stations assessments and performance during wildfire response events;\n\nDecisions about whether to shut off water to adjacent neighborhoods to increase water pressure to the Palisades;\n\nStorage capacity or water level assessments of water storage systems, including tanks or reservoirs;\n\nRisks or dangers of wildfires occurring while reservoirs were drained or out of service; and\n\nAny contingency or backup plans to address loss of pressure or water systems during a wildfire response.\n\nAll records referring or relating to the press release on January 23, 2025, entitled: \u201cCorrecting Misinformation about LADWP\u2019s Water System.\u201d\n\nAll records referring or relating to the Santa Ynez Reservoir, including but not limited to:\n\nAll records referring or relating to maintenance, inspection, or repair of the reservoir\u2019s floating cover;\n\nRecords related to the initial decision to utilize floating covers, including memoranda or contracts;\n\nAll communications referring or relating to the draining of the reservoir;\n\nAll communications referring or relating to contingency or alternative water storage plans in the event the reservoir was drained;\n\nAll communications referring or relating to the use of the Chautauqua Reservoir in lieu of the Santa Ynez Reservoir; and\n\nAll communications referring or relating to Layfield USA Corporation or any other contractor, vendor, or bidder regarding any proposal to repair or replace the Santa Ynez Reservoir\u2019s floating cover, including but not limited to discussions of LADWP\u2019s \u201cSupplier Diversity\u201d policies or the DEI policies of Layfield or other contractors, vendors, or bidders.[6]\n\nAll records referring or relating to the maintenance of the power lines, including but not limited to whether it contributed to the spread of the Palisades fire.\n\nAll communications referring or relating to wildfire prevention, mitigation, or suppression, including but not limited to the Palisades fire, between LADWP and any employee or official with the following entities:\n\nLos Angeles Mayor\u2019s Office;\n\nLos Angeles City Council;\n\nOffice of the Governor of California;\n\nLos Angeles Fire Department;\n\nLos Angeles County Fire Department; and\n\nAny federal agency or department.\n\nPlease produce this information as soon as possible, but no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on October 17, 2025. If you have any questions about this request, please contact Subcommittee staff at (202) 224-3721 and (202) 224-0909. Thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this matter.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-03-30T11:08:25Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.rickscott.senate.gov/2025/10/sen-rick-scott-chair-ron-johnson-request-records-from-ladwp-for-congressional-investigation-into-pacific-palisades-wildfire"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0292548686265945, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}