The Pacific Palisades fire consumed nearly 12,000 acres (4,856 hectares), draining three 1-million-gallon (3.8-million-liter) water tanks in the area by early Wednesday. The LADWP said that while all available water tanks in the city were filled in advance of the windstorm, the sheer demand at lower elevations prevented timely refilling of higher-elevation tanks.
Janisse Quinones, LADWP’s CEO and chief engineer, noted the logistical challenges: “The demand for water at lower elevations significantly hampered our ability to refill tanks in neighborhoods like Pacific Palisades.”
How Los Angeles Went Dry
City officials insisted that municipal water systems were operating as designed. However, these systems were built to serve urban needs—not to combat large-scale wildfires.
Jay Lund, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Davis, explained the limitations:
“City water tanks are designed to handle localized fires, not widespread wildfires like those we’re seeing in Los Angeles,” Lund told Reuters.
He added: “It’s not a matter of there not being enough water in Southern California—it’s about not having enough water in the specific area needed during those crucial hours to fight the fires.”The situation was exacerbated by years of mismanagement within the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). According to a report by the New York Post, issues such as a federal indictment, high-profile resignations, and operational failures contributed to rapidly depleting water reserves.
Preparedness Efforts Fall Short
Despite efforts to prepare, including the deployment of 18 water trucks carrying 2,000 to 4,000 gallons each, the scale and intensity of the fires overwhelmed resources.
Lund explained the near-impossibility of arranging sufficient water in advance: “If everything catches fire at once, there’s no way to have enough water for everybody. The pipes simply can’t move that much water across the city in such a short time.”
The water crisis extended beyond Los Angeles, with neighboring regions reporting similar shortages. In Ventura County, firefighting efforts during the Eaton Fire were also hampered by water supply issues.
The crisis has raised questions about city leadership. Mayor Karen Bass, who was in Africa when the fires erupted, faced criticism for her $18 million budget cut to the fire department earlier this year. Fire Chief Kristin Crowley and state officials, including Governor Gavin Newsom, also came under fire for California’s water management and fire prevention policies.
Former President Donald Trump weighed in, blaming Newsom’s strategies for exacerbating the state’s vulnerability to wildfires.
A Warning for the Future
By Wednesday night, the Pacific Palisades fire had grown to 16,000 acres, with five fatalities, numerous injuries, and over 70,000 residents displaced. As firefighters reported over their radios that water supplies had failed, the severity of the crisis became undeniable:
“The hydrants are down,” one firefighter said. Another added, “Water supply just dropped.”
This tragedy serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need for California to invest in its water infrastructure and wildfire preparedness. Without swift action, the state risks facing even more devastating disasters in the future.
