After the Palisades fire, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power employees notified police of two incidents that set off alarms within the utility company.

Los Angeles Police Department officials said officers responded to Mulholland Drive in Beverly Crest shortly after noon Wednesday after a man threatened a DWP employee who was repairing a downed utility pole.

A man in a gray Mercedes drove up to the utility worker and threatened him with physical harm. DWP employees called 911 and the person had left the area by the time officers responded, police said.

Police were alerted to reports of a man possibly armed with a rifle at the DWP's city center headquarters, the John Ferraro Building on Hope Street, at around 7pm on Tuesday. No details were provided about what happened during the incident.

Police searched the area and detained a man matching the suspect's description. However, police determined that the man was walking home and had prepared dinner and flowers for his wife.

Other supervisors responded to the call and searched the area, but no weapons were recovered. No arrests were made.

A DWP spokesman said: "We can confirm that one of our staff has been threatened. "We take every threat and incident seriously and report it to law enforcement immediately. "

A DWP spokesman said its staff were "an important part of the city family", adding: "Our staff are working around the clock to support the city's response and their work is critical to these efforts."

DWP is one of several city and state agencies to face scrutiny and public criticism since the Palisades fire. The utility company provides water and electricity services to 4.1 million Los Angeles residents, including Pacific Palisades.

Late the first night of the Palisades fire, firefighters reported difficulties getting water from multiple hydrants. The utility said the huge demand from wildfires has put pressure on the water system, a situation that has occurred in other areas with large fires, and about 20% of Palisades' fire hydrants have experienced pressure losses.

DWP also faced criticism for leaving the Santa Ynez Reservoir, located in the middle of the Palisades burn zone, vacant. The reservoir was drained nearly a year ago to repair the floating cap, but it has not yet been completed.

Former DWP general manager Martin Adams told The Times he believed the reservoir would help extend water pressure in the Palisades but would not prevent the inevitable pressure drop caused by wildfires.

Times staff writer Matt Hamilton contributed to this report.