The water supply in Los Angeles County is being stretched thin as firefighters battle multiple large wildfires. Officials warn that municipal water systems are not designed for fighting blazes and air support is limited due to weather.
As firefighters continue to battle four major wildfires across Los Angeles County Wednesday, concerns have been voiced over the local water supply and its impact on firefighting efforts.FOX 11's Gigi Graciette was in a neighborhood evacuated due to the Palisades Fire, where firefighters were seen holding hoses in their hands, and no water coming out. Some firefighters were even seen trying to use water from swimming pools to save homes.
During a press conference Wednesday, Los Angeles County Department of Public Works Director Mark Fitzgerald addressed the concerns, saying while the municipal water systems are equipped to service homes and businesses, they are not designed to fight wildfires. \'A fire fight with multiple fire hydrants drawing water from the system for several hours is unsustainable. This is a known fact. That's why air support is so critical to the firefight; and unfortunately, wind and air visibility have prevented that support,' he said.He added that the county and city water reservoirs are on standby to assist.Janisse Quiñones, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said the system was 'pushed to the extreme four times' and there has been 'tremendous demand in the Palisades.''The normal demand was seen for 15 hours straight, which lowered our water pressure. We were pushing 75 CFS on our trunk line to try to keep water pressures on the system,' she said. Quiñones advised customers to conserve water throughout LA County to help firefighters. 'We're fighting a wildfire with urban water systems. And that is really challenging what happened in Palisades. We have three large water tanks, about a million gallons each. We ran out of water and the first thing out, 4:45 p.m'
Wildfires Los Angeles Water Supply Firefighting California
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