Janisse Quiñones, the CEO of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) who was accused of leaving the reservoir empty during the 2025 Palisades Fire, will be stepping down.
Quiñones will be returning to her home in Puerto Rico, where she will take on a leadership role in “supporting the modernization and transformation” of its electric grid, per the California Post.
“Janisse brought steady leadership and engineering expertise to LADWP during a critical period for our city,” Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement. “Her focus on resilience, reliability, and strengthening the workforce has helped position the Department for continued progress. We thank her for her service to Los Angeles.”
Quiñones expressed gratitude to Karen Bass for entrusting her with the position.
“Serving the people of Los Angeles has been one of the greatest honors of my professional life,” Quiñones said. “I am deeply grateful to Mayor Karen Bass and the City of Los Angeles for the trust placed in me to steward essential infrastructure that supports the health, safety, and economic vitality of our communities.
“Los Angeles is a city defined by innovation, diversity, and resilience. It has been a privilege to serve a community that continually rises to meet its challenges,” she added.
Quiñones leaves with a major controversy under her belt after coming under scrutiny in 2025 for the “poor handling of the response to the Los Angeles fires, specifically for leaving reservoirs empty and not addressing nearly 400 fire hydrants that needed repair,” as noted by the California Post.
“More than 1,300 Los Angeles fire hydrants needed maintenance or repair—some flagged nearly a year before the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires—raising questions about whether broken hydrants impacted firefighting efforts, according to a KCAL News investigation,” it reported.
“Furthermore, Quiñones oversaw the shutdown and emptying of a reservoir in the Pacific Palisades during brushfire season, the Daily Mail reported. This reportedly resulted in firefighters running out of water faster,” it added.
In her position, Quiñones earned over $750,000, which was double that of her predecessor, Martin Adams — the highest-paid city employee.
