Devastating Los Angeles Fire Unstoppable by Any Water System


Jakarta -A massive fire has engulfed Los Angeles, and firefighters seem powerless to control it. Vegetation management, aging infrastructure and homes, and a lack of planning may have contributed to a fire that has so far burned more than 88 square kilometers, destroyed thousands of buildings, and killed at least 10 people.Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass promised a full investigation. “Rest assured, we will definitely conduct an evaluation to see what worked and what didn’t, and to correct or hold accountable anyone, departments, individuals, and so on,” she said, as quoted by CNN.
Part of the investigation will certainly focus on the main element in extinguishing the fire: water. When strong winds fueled the fire at the start, firefighters could be heard on the radio reporting alarming developments.
Some hydrants were not functioning properly. “We have lost most of the hydrant pressure,” said one firefighter. “Got a dry hydrant,” said another.
However, experts said even fully functioning hydrants would not be enough to extinguish a fire of this magnitude. Additionally, aerial resources such as helicopters and airplanes could not operate due to strong winds, making it what some officials called a “perfect disaster.”
“I don’t know of any water system in the world that is prepared for an event like this,” said Greg Pierce, a water resources expert at UCLA. However, fully functioning hydrants could help minimize some of the damage.
Janisse Quinones from the Los Angeles Water Department said firefighters battling the blaze in the Palisades area requested water four times the usual amount. Three separate storage tanks, each holding about one million gallons of water, sporadically ran dry.
She mentioned that 20% of the hydrants used to fight the Palisades fire ran dry. “We are extinguishing wildfires with urban water systems, and that is truly challenging. This is an unprecedented event,” she said.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has called for an independent investigation into the water supply issues for firefighters. “Ongoing reports of water pressure loss to some local fire hydrants during the fires and the unavailability of water from the Santa Ynez Reservoir deeply concern me and the public,” he wrote.

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