LOS ANGELES – Officials reported that the water pressure to fire hydrants has diminished in Los Angeles, as several wildfires consume thousands of acres in Southern California.
The largest of the wildfires, the Eaton Fire near Altadena and Pasadena, has scorched over 10,000 acres alone and led to at least two deaths as of Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, the Palisades Fire near the Santa Monica Mountains, the Hurst Fire near San Fernando and the Woodley Fire have burned more than 5,000 acres combined.
Such widespread flames have put immense strain on the water system in Los Angeles. In the Palisades, the amount of water used for firefighting efforts has used four times the normal demand over a short period of time.
L.A. Department of Water and Power (LADWP) CEO and Chief Engineer Janisse Quiñones said teams have struggled to maintain water pressure on the system, which allows water to be pushed to fire hydrants used by firefighters.
Quiñones noted that in the Palisades, where water pressure for fire hydrants is fed by three water tanks containing 1 million gallons each, the tanks had run out of water by 3 a.m. Wednesday morning.
In addition to the widespread nature of the fires exacerbating the water supply and pressure, firefighting units have been called off due to the weather, leaving ground crews to act alone.
“The strain that this fire has put on the water system and the hydrants, they’re just not designed for that type of usage all at once for 15 hours straight,” Los Angeles County Fire Department Captain Sheila Kelliher Berkoh said to FOX Weather.
L.A. City Fire Chief Kristin M. Crowley did note that firefighters do have the ability to draw water from sources other than the tanks.
“Our apparatus does have that ability to draft water if we need to – water pools, ponds, any type of water resource,” she said.
However, Quiñones stressed the need for California residents to pull together in the fight against the wildfires.
“If there’s a message you take away from me today is I need our customers to really conserve water, not just in the Palisades area, but the whole system, because the fire department needs the water to fight the fires,” she said.
Officials at LADWP warned residents of one danger that might come from lower water pressure in their system – bacterial growth. Because of this, they have issued a Boil Water Notice for the Pacific Palisades and nearby communities.
They added that the notice may remain for two or more days as LADWP crews are able to re-pressurize the water system and conduct water quality tests.