In the wake of the Palisades fire, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power employees have alerted police to a pair of incidents that have raised alarm inside the utility.
Shortly after noon Wednesday, officers responded to Mulholland Drive in Beverly Crest after a person threatened a DWP employee who was working on a downed electrical pole, L.A. Police Department officials said.
A person in a gray Mercedes-Benz drove up to the utility worker and threatened bodily harm. The DWP employee phoned 911, and by the time officers responded, the person had left the area, police said.
On Tuesday, officers were alerted around 7 p.m. to a man possibly armed with a rifle at the downtown headquarters of the DWP, the John Ferraro Building on Hope Street. No details were provided on what occurred during the incident.
Police searched the area and detained a man matching the description of the suspect. Officers determined, however, the man was walking home with dinner and flowers for his wife.
Additional supervisors responded to the call, canvassed the area, and did not recover a weapon. No arrests were made.
“We can confirm that threats have been made against our employees,” said a DWP spokesperson. “We take every threat and incident seriously and report them immediately to law enforcement. “
Calling its staff an “essential part of the city family,” the DWP spokesperson added: “Our employees are working tirelessly around the clock to support the city’s response, and their work is critical to those efforts.”
Since the Palisades fire, the DWP is one of several city and state agencies to face scrutiny and public criticism. The utility supplies water and electrical service to 4.1 million residents of L.A., including Pacific Palisades.
Late in the evening on the first night of the Palisades fire, firefighting crews reported difficulty getting water from several hydrants. The utility has said enormous demand from the wildfire strained the water system, which has occurred in other areas contending with massive fires, and that about 20% of hydrants in the Palisades saw a loss in pressure.
The DWP also faced criticism over the empty Santa Ynez Reservoir, located in the middle of the Palisades burn area. The reservoir was drained nearly a year ago for repairs to its floating cover, which have not been completed.
Former DWP general manager Martin Adams told The Times that he believed the reservoir would have helped prolong water pressure in the Palisades but would not have averted the inevitable drop in pressure due to the wildfire.
Times staff writer Matt Hamilton contributed to this report.
