| F001 | Santa Ynez Reservoir was empty | TRUE | The 117-million gallon Santa Ynez Reservoir near Pacific Palisades was confirmed by LADWP to be empty when the fire began because it had been taken out of service in early 2024 to repair a tear in its floating cover, a necessary action to comply with safe drinking water regulations. This large, empty reserve immediately became a focal point of controversy, as some believed a full reservoir could have provided additional resources to combat the massive blaze, though LADWP maintained the system remained compliant with fire codes even without the reservoir. | CBS |
| F002 | LADWP was unaware and did not have time to remediate water. | FALSE | The premise that LADWP leadership was completely unaware of water issues or lacked preparation time is false; LADWP was aware the Santa Ynez Reservoir was offline for nearly a year. | |
| FD003 | Water ran out in Pacific Palisades | FALSE | The claim that "water ran out" across the entire Pacific Palisades area is technically false, according to LADWP, who clarified that water was still physically present in the main supply lines (the Westgate Trunk Line) but could not be effectively delivered due to a complete loss of water pressure. | News Nation |
| F004 | Water was out in certain areas in Pacific Palisades | TRUE | While water did not run out of the entire system, water access was eliminated in critical, high-elevation areas of the Pacific Palisades. | KCRW |
| F005 | Leadership could not have restored the Santa Ynez Reservoir | FALSE | City and state leadership failed to adequately address the known, critical risk posed by the empty Santa Ynez Reservoir, given the forecasted Santa Anna wind event. City and state officials did not act with the urgency required to restore the reservoir or establish a comparable emergency backup prior to the known fire season. | |