Overview
- The civil complaint, filed Feb. 18 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, names the State of California, the City and County of Los Angeles, the California Department of Parks and Recreation, LADWP, the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.
- Malibu alleges State Parks let embers from the earlier Lachman Fire smolder near the Skull Rock area on Temescal Ridge despite fierce Santa Ana winds, contributing to the Palisades Fire’s ignition and spread.
- The suit claims Los Angeles and LADWP left key reservoirs empty and failed to maintain essential firefighting infrastructure, resulting in a weakened initial response.
- City officials seek unspecified damages to recoup emergency response costs, infrastructure repairs, environmental restoration and lost revenues, with no formal responses from the defendants reported.
- The Palisades Fire burned about 23,448 acres, destroyed roughly 6,800 structures and killed 12 people regionwide; the complaint says at least six Malibu residents died and about 700 homes plus dozens of businesses in the city were destroyed.