City bureaus report wildfire damage to utilities, roads and parks; committee approves undergrounding criteria amendment and orders quarterly recovery reports

The Los Angeles City ad hoc committee for LA Recovery heard multi‑agency updates on infrastructure damaged by the January wildfires and approved an amendment to undergrounding criteria while directing quarterly recovery reporting to the council.

Councilwoman Tracy Park, chair of the committee, asked department representatives to keep their presentations brief. Department updates covered sewer and storm systems, tree removal and parkway cleanup, bulkhead and roadway damage, streetlight and power pole assessments, park and recreation facility losses, traffic control damage, and water‑system testing.

Los Angeles Sanitation and Environment reported that conveyance crews inspected sewer and storm lines in the Palisades burn area and engaged emergency contractors for repairs. The bureau said staff completed inspections of about 46 percent of roughly 69 miles of sewer line in the Palisades sector and that contractors had repaired approximately 250 feet of sewer pipe and 570 feet of stormwater pipe. Sanitation reported cleaning 14 debris basins and removing about 3,300 cubic yards of debris; the bureau estimated the cost of impacts to sewer and stormwater infrastructure at about $16,700,000 and said it will seek state and federal reimbursement. "The estimated cost of the impacts to sanitation's sewer and stormwater infrastructure is approximately $16,700,000," the bureau stated.

StreetsLA reported assessments for public‑right‑of‑way trees in the burn area. Of roughly 4,483 street trees in the affected Palisades…