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Firefighters battled to keep fire hydrants working properly as several fires raged in the Los Angeles area, with hydrants in Pacific Palisades completely dry Wednesday morning, firefighters said at a news conference Tuesday morning. There are currently three major wildfires burning in the LA area, which have destroyed more than 1,000 structures, killed two people and forced thousands to evacuate.
“We were trying to keep water up all over the Palisades, and I think the hydrants ran dry at three o’clock in the morning,” Janisse Quinones, director general of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said at a news conference. Wednesday.
The hydrants draw water from a nearby reservoir, and L.A. City Fire Chief Christine Crowley said they don’t have a specific number of hydrants that eventually run out of water, but emphasized that this is temporary and “comes in stages.”
“Our firefighters always have a master plan, a backup plan, an emergency plan and a contingency plan. “A lot of times, water supplies are normally limited in large fires so that the public is aware,” Crowley said. “So if you need to get out of pools, ponds, any water resource, our apparatus has the ability to pump water. We also use water tenders…”
Frustration over the lack of water at hydrants is not new and has become a point of contention with people saying it is the result of mismanagement. Billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso, who is running an unsuccessful campaign for L.A. mayor in 2022, told the LA Times that staff at his nearby Palisades Village property reported problems with hydrants on Tuesday.
“There’s no water in the fire hydrants,” Caruso said LA Times. “The firefighters are there (in the neighborhood) and there’s nothing they can do — our neighborhoods are burning, homes and businesses are burning.”
Caruso blamed city officials but did not mention the challenges posed by climate change, which has worsened Southern California’s current fire crisis.
“The LA County Fire Department was prepared for one or two large brush fires, but not four, especially given these sustained winds and low humidity,” LA County Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone said Wednesday.
The three fires currently burning in the LA area now include the Eaton fire near Pasadena at 2,200 acres, the Hurst fire in the San Fernando Valley at 500 acres, and the Palisades fire at more than 5,000 acres. Two people died and the number of injured is not yet known, but the number is “significant”. LAist.
The Santa Ana winds According to the New York Times , winds of up to 99 miles per hour near Pasadena on Tuesday caused the fires to spread dangerously. Tens of thousands of people in Southern California are currently under mandatory evacuation orders, and emergency centers have been set up to handle not only people fleeing the flames, but also pets.
CBS Correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti shared a video X Wreckage in Pacific Palisades Wednesday morning, many buildings clearly destroyed.
That’s all that’s left of Pacific Palisades. The mall survived. Most everything else is gone. Homes, apartment complexes… businesses. pic.twitter.com/Vfz721V48J
— Jonathan Vigliotti 🐋 (@JonVigliotti) January 8, 2025
More than 1,000 structures were destroyed in the Palisades fire, including the local public library, which was considered a total loss. Pet supply store Malibu Bait Box He wrote on Facebook that the business was also destroyed after 60 years of activity.
Some wealthy people were looking for some sort of shortcut around city services that could help them in their time of need, especially since Pacific Palisades is generally a very wealthy area. Keith Wasserman, a tech CEO and real estate investor, called X Tuesday night to find a private firefighter that could save his home.
“Does everyone have access to personal fire extinguishers to protect our home in Pacific Palisades? You need to act quickly here. All the neighbors’ houses are burning. Will pay any amount. Thank you,” Wasserman wrote viral tweet.
Wasserman previously tweeted to complain about the cost of property taxes that fund firefighters in Los Angeles, even asking incoming President Donald Trump to lower them for anyone who seems unaware that property taxes are decided at the local level.
