Los Angeles wildfires: Residents sue over lack of water, but did this cause the devastation?

The Los Angeles wildfires have caused devastation across the county, with more than 12,000 homes and buildings lost to the blaze. 

As Californians look to pick up the pieces of their lives, some have turned to legal recourse to claw back their losses.

On 14 January, Reuters reported that a group of residents and others affected by the blaze were filing a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). The plaintiffs accuse the department of failing to adequately manage water supplies, leaving firefighters unable to tackle the fires.

Now, reality TV personalities Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag have launched a similar class action lawsuit with 20 other affected property owners. The couple, who rose to stardom on reality TV show ‘The Hills,’ filed the lawsuit on Tuesday, blaming Los Angeles and its municipal water department for the mismanagement of water supplies.

In both cases, the claimants say a lack of available water caused their homes to be destroyed.

Specifically, the cases allege that the Santa Ynez Reservoir, which can hold as much as 443 million litres of water, has been empty since February 2024. 

Southern California relies on a lot of imported water to meet its needs. Around 50 to 60 per cent of its water is from the Colorado River, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the Eastern Sierra.

Adding fuel to the fire of these claims were comments by newly-elected President Trump who, even before he was sworn in, was pointing the finger at California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat.

"The fires are still raging in LA,” he posted on Truth Social. “The incompetent pols have no idea how to put them out. Thousands of magnificent houses are gone, and many more will soon be lost.”

Trump claimed Newsom