Update: Sunset Boulevard in ruins: The Pacific Palisades fire’s enormous scope is revealed
By The Associated Press’s Brittany Peterson
According to local water officials on Wednesday, the public water system in Los Angeles experienced four times the normal demand for water for about 15 hours as wildfires grew out of control. This resulted in some hydrants running dry and made it more difficult to combat the fires.
The demand was so great that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was unable to replenish three one-million-gallon tanks in the steep Pacific Palisades that assist in pressurizing hydrants for the community. The water was being forced into the system from aqueducts and groundwater. On multiple instances, they dried out, and at least 1,000 buildings caught fire.
President-elect Donald Trump was among many who criticized Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom’s water management practices on social media. Regional water officials resisted on Wednesday, claiming that the system was overburdened because a municipal water system that was not built to combat such large fires was under a lot of strain.
“It’s really difficult to combat a wildfire with urban water systems,” stated Janisse Quiones, the chief executive officer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
In fact, municipal water systems are frequently unable to handle the demand of battling these massive fires as wildfires become more frequent in urban areas like Boulder, Colorado, and Lahaina, Hawaii. Experts claim that climate change brought on by humans is making it worse.
Taking advantage of the situation, Trump blamed Newsom for the dry fire hydrants. He once again criticized the state’s strategy for striking a balance between the need to preserve endangered species, such as the Delta smelt, and the delivery of water to cities and farms in a post on his Truth Social social media network on Wednesday. In a long-running conflict over California’s limited water supplies, Trump has taken the side of farmers rather than environmentalists.
According to Peter Gleick, senior fellow at the Pacific Institute, a nonprofit organization that focuses on global water sustainability, leaving more water in rivers for endangered fish is one thing, but water availability in Los Angeles is quite another.
According to Gleick, those battles have been going on for a while and have had no impact whatsoever on the water supply used for combating fires in southern California.
The state has curtailed water supply this year, and state-controlled projects connecting to northern California provide around 40% of the water used in Los Angeles. However, the levels in the southern California reservoirs that these canals contribute to feeding are higher than usual for this season.
In addition to affecting the supply of water, big city fires can also melt or otherwise harm pipes, resulting in significant water leaks that relieve system pressure, according to Purdue University engineering professor Andrew Whelton. Water providers may swiftly stop such losses by providing individual households with water meters that include a remote shutoff feature, according to Whelton.
Wednesday, January 8, 2025, firefighters operate a fire hydrant in front of the flaming Bunny Museum in Pasadena, California’s Altadena neighborhood. (Photo courtesy of Chris Pizzello)AP
Pipe bursts made it difficult to maintain adequate water pressure for firefighting attempts during the 2023 fire that destroyed the historic town of Lahaina and killed over 100 people since it burned through a dense area so quickly.
In order to restore pressure during the 2021 Marshall Fire in Colorado, the water department of the city of Louisville had employees manually open valves to allow untreated water from Boulder Creek and the Colorado River to enter pipes. Although it aided firefighters, it also contaminated the water.
In order to combat the flames, LADWP is putting in mobile water tankers, which can be refilled at hydrants that haven’t lost pressure, according to Qui ones. Refilling 4,000 gallons of water takes around 30 minutes.
According to Mark Pestrella, head of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, municipal water systems are not built to combat wildfires.
Air support is therefore essential to the fighting. “Unfortunately,” Pestrella stated, “wind and air visibility have prevented that support.” When it’s safe to fly, county and city reservoirs are prepared to be used to combat fires from the air, he said.
To ensure there is adequate water for firemen to use, officials are asking everyone in the area to conserve.
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