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Council approves pump station procurement steps for Whittier hills 'hella hydrant' wildfire project
Summary
The council received and filed a proposal to build infrastructure to support a 1,000‑gallon‑per‑minute helo‑hydrant at the Savage Canyon landfill, funded in part by a $500,000 grant from Assemblymember Lisa Calderón to LA County Fire.
The Whittier City Council on Aug. 26 received and filed a proposal to build a pump station and pipeline to support a helicopter‑refillable "hella hydrant" at the Savage Canyon landfill that will improve wildfire response in the Whittier Hills.
Why it matters: The installation — paired with a secondary tank provided through county and state support — is intended to shorten helicopter refill turnaround times, improving aerial firefighting capability near Whittier and adjacent hillside communities.
Councilmember Fernando Dutra, who led the discussion, described the asset as a roughly 1,000 gallons‑per‑minute pump installed to support LA County Fire helicopter operations. City staff said the $500,000 referenced in the staff report is a grant provided to LA County Fire by Assemblymember Lisa Calderón to acquire two helio‑hydrants; Whittier will build the pump station and connecting pipelines.
Public works staff described the procurement timeline: with council approval the city will go out to bid, leave bids open for about a month, and expect to return to council in October to award a contract, with construction anticipated to start before year‑end.
Staff also said the chosen site at the Savage Canyon landfill was selected to minimize noise and rotor wash impacts on residential areas and to avoid construction over buried landfill cells where possible. The county will also supply a secondary tank; city work focuses on the pump station and piping. The project will be monitored via SCADA (remote telemetry) so operators can monitor tank levels remotely.
Formal action: The council approved the item to receive and file and move ahead with design and bidding; the roll call vote recorded ayes from Councilmembers and the mayor.
Ending: With the county grant supplying tanks and Whittier building the pump and pipeline, staff said the combined infrastructure is intended to permit five‑minute helicopter turnaround times in the hills, reducing refill latency in major fire incidents.
