Two months after the Palisades fire broke out, the city of Los Angeles will lift a “Do-Not-Drink-Water” notice, Mayor Karen Bass announced on Thursday, March 6, seeking to reset the narrative on the eve of the fire’s anniversary after weeks of post-fire tumult that culminated in the firing of the city’s fire chief.
“Two months ago, the entire world watched as L.A.’s heroes, our firefighters, police officers, and first responders fought tirelessly to protect our city, and two months since we have launched the largest disaster recovery operation in the history of the city of Los Angeles,” Bass said Thursday, flanked by local and federal leaders at the Palisades Recreation Center.
Bass chronicled a series of recovery efforts, both already in the works and also to come, including the undergrounding of power lines, protecting water supplies, while foreshadowing a coming directive that would fastrack more resilient rebuilds in the area.
“Next week I’ll be using my emergency executive powers to direct city departments to create a new accelerated path for Angelenos who want to build in a more resilient way, and I’ll be taking action to make sure that infrastructure, more fireproof and resilient is built in the face of worsening climate threats,” she said.
But at the top of the list was the return of drinking water, beginning Friday, and the lifting of an order that had been in place for weeks since January.
Officials also had advised since then not to drink or cook with tap water, noting that attempts to treat, boil, freeze, filter or add chlorine or other disinfectants to the water will not make it safe to drink.
A Do-Not-Drink notice had remained in effect for Pacific Palisades Zip Code 90272, west of Temescal Canyon Road and North of Bestor Boulevard in the LADWP service area.
“As of tomorrow, the do-not-drink order will be lifted for all standing structures in the Palisades, and just to give you a comparison— in the tragic Camp fire, it took…
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