“Laguna Beach” and “The Hills” reality television stars Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag, along with 20 other Pacific Palisades residents, are suing the city of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power over the damage to their properties from the Palisades Fire that sparked on Jan. 7. The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, Jan. 21, uses a legal concept accusing the city and utilities department of “inverse condemnation,” which gives property owners compensation for damage caused by public use.
The couple, who lost their home to the fire, and others, blame the city and utility’s operation of the water supply and inaccessible infrastructure for the damage to their properties, arguing in the lawsuit that the fire “was an inescapable and unavoidable consequence” of the water being shut off.
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Court documents said the 117-million-gallon Santa Ynez Reservoir, which services the Pacific Palisades area, has been offline and empty since early last year for repairs, leading to hydrants depending on water tanks not meant to handle such a large fire, and resulting in preventable damages to the residents’ properties.
DWP officials previously acknowledged if the reservoir had water, higher elevation levels of the Pacific Palisades would have had water pressure. Although it’s unclear if the reservoir’s water would have made a significant impact on firefighting efforts.
The fires were fueled by extremely dry conditions and hurricane-force winds.
As residents express outrage, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, D, has ordered an investigation to uncover the causes of the loss of water pressure to fire hydrants while firefighters’ battle multiple wildfires across southern California.
Following the loss of their home, the reality television pair of Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt have turned to TikTok to share updates with their audience and even urged followers to stream and purchase Heidi Montag’s 15-year-old album “Superficial” to help the couple generate income in the wake of the natural disaster.
According to Los Angeles officials, the Palisades and Eaton Fires have killed at least 28 people and destroyed more than 14,000 structures.
