LA wildfires create water shortage problems for firefighters battling blazes. Storage tanks and pumping systems overwhelmed by the rapid spread of fires.
The wildfires in the Los Angeles area have caused widespread damage. Ten people have died, and fires have burned over 10,000 homes and other buildings since Tuesday. Firefighters working to extinguish these fires are now dealing with the challenge of water running out in fire hydrants in the area.
The New York Times reported that the storage tanks holding water for high-elevation areas and the pumping systems that supply them with water, could not keep up with the need for water given how rapidly the wildfires moved through neighborhoods. This happened in part because the team who designed the pumping system did not consider the speed at which multiple fires would race through the Los Angeles area this week. According to the New York Times, water systems are created for firefighters to use multiple hydrants at once, allowing them to maintain a steady flow of water for crews who may be trying to protect a large structure or a handful of homes. But these systems can struggle when wildfires burn through entire neighborhoods.The problem can be glaring during high-wind conditions, like those in Los Angeles this week, when firefighting aircraft could not safely drop water from the air to contain the fires. Fire officials tell the New York Times that storage tanks above Pacific Palisades and other hillside communities impacted by the wildfires were filled. Meanwhile, a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power official tells the Los Angeles Times that all the storage tanks in the Palisades area 'went dry,' lowering the flow of water from hydrants in higher elevations. Captain Kevin Easton, the 19-year fire department veteran who helped battle the Pacific Palisades blaze in Los Angeles, explained to the New York Times that there were other issues combined with the water supply, like delays in getting more support crews from other areas to the scene.The New York Times noted that the Los Angeles water and power department deployed trucks with extra water tanks to the area, but since the tanks were in stationary spaces, firefighters had to get the water and bring it back to the fire
WILDFIRE LOS ANGELES WATER SUPPLY FIRE FIGHTING CALIFORNIA
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