The water supply used to combat the Palisades fire in Los Angeles proved insufficient during the intense blaze. Several hydrants ran dry, impeding firefighting efforts, according to local water officials on Wednesday.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power augmented the system’s water supply by pumping more water from aqueducts and groundwater sources. However, the demand was so overwhelming that three one-million-gallon tanks in the hilly Pacific Palisades, crucial for pressurizing hydrants, couldn’t be replenished. Numerous hydrants ran dry, resulting in the destruction of at least 1,000 buildings.
Experts explained that most water systems are not equipped to handle large-scale wildfires. In a forceful press conference, officials urged residents to conserve water and refrain from using garden hoses to fight fires.
“I urge you to turn off your water and gas before leaving your home to ensure sufficient water supply for the hydrant system,” stated Mark Pestrella, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.
This situation sparked considerable online criticism targeting Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom’s water management policies.
“Thousands of homes, families, and businesses have been destroyed. Finding a way to ensure adequate water pressure in hydrants shouldn’t be difficult; excuses are unacceptable,” commented Rick Caruso, a real estate developer and former Los Angeles Department of Water and Power commissioner, who was the runner-up in the recent mayoral election.
President-elect Trump utilized the incident to criticize Newsom, reiterating his concerns about the state’s approach to balancing water allocation for farms and cities with the need to protect endangered species, such as the Delta smelt. Trump has consistently sided with farmers over environmentalists in the ongoing debate over California’s limited water resources.
“The Governor is focused on protecting people, not politics, and ensuring firefighters have all necessary resources,” responded Izzy Gardon, communications director for California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Regional water officials also countered that the system wasn’t designed to handle such massive fires.
“We’re using urban water systems to combat a wildfire, which presents significant challenges,” noted Janisse Quiñones, CEO of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Peter Gleick, a senior fellow at the Pacific Institute, a non-profit focused on global water sustainability, also dismissed Trump’s criticism. He differentiated between protecting river water for endangered fish and addressing Los Angeles’ water supply issues.
“These disputes have been ongoing for a long time and haven’t impacted southern California’s firefighting water supply,” Gleick stated.
Approximately 40 percent of Los Angeles’ city water originates from state-controlled projects in northern California, and the state has reduced its water deliveries this year. Despite this, southern California reservoirs fed by these canals are at lower-than-usual levels for this time of year.
A widening problem
As wildfires become increasingly prevalent in urban areas, such as Boulder, Colorado, and elsewhere, public water systems are frequently unable to meet firefighting demands. Experts attribute this worsening situation to human-caused climate change.
Besides water availability, large urban fires can also damage or melt pipes, causing significant water leakage and reduced system pressure, explained Andrew Whelton, an engineering professor at Purdue University. He suggested that homes with remotely shut-off water meters could help water utilities quickly mitigate such losses.
Greg Pierce, a professor of urban environmental policy at the University of California, whose family lost a home in the fires, challenged Caruso’s claim that the water pressure loss indicated mismanagement.
Ensuring sufficient water supply could amount to subsidizing high-income areas, he argued. “The discussion should center on the habitability of these areas,” he added.
John Fisher, a retired battalion chief with San Diego Fire-Rescue, stated that California is a global leader in resource and staffing sharing for large-scale fire suppression.
“We handle these situations. We pre-position resources and deploy reserve engines,” he said. “Yesterday, the fire significantly outweighed firefighting capabilities, but this will change as winds subside, more firefighters arrive, and we gain the upper hand.”
Water system struggles have occurred across the nation. The 2023 fire in Lahaina, which resulted in over a hundred fatalities, spread so rapidly through the dense area that pipe bursts hindered water pressure for firefighting.
During the 2021 Marshall Fire in Colorado, Louisville’s water department manually opened valves to introduce untreated water from the Colorado River and Boulder Creek into pipes, restoring pressure. This aided firefighters but also led to water contamination.
LADWP is deploying mobile water tankers to support firefighting efforts. These tankers can refill at hydrants with sufficient pressure, according to Quiñones. Refilling approximately 4,000 gallons of water takes around 30 minutes.
For many hours, the fire prevented aircraft from accessing a more abundant water source—reservoirs.
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