California firefighters are running out of water as they desperately battle three rapidly growing wildfires threatening huge areas around Los Angeles — with emergency responders reporting bone-dry hydrants.
“The hydrants are down,” one firefighter said over the radio, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“Water supply just dropped,” another added.
California firefighters are running out of water as they battle three growing fires in the Los Angeles area. REUTERS
Three massive wildfires are currently tearing through the Los Angeles area.
The Department of Water and Power confirmed reports of hydrants being empty, without giving numbers.
Billionaire LA developer Rick Caruso, a former commissioner of the city’s water board, said he noticed the dry hydrants while several homes near his glamorous Palisades Village shopping center were “fully engulfed” in flames.
“There’s no water in the fire hydrants,” Caruso told the LA paper.
“The firefighters are there and there’s nothing they can do — we’ve got neighborhoods burning, homes burning, and businesses burning. … It should never happen.”
Caruso said the problem stems from the reservoirs that feed the neighborhood’s hydrants.
“This is a window into a systemic problem of the city — not only of mismanagement, but our infrastructure is old,” said Caruso, who unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2022.
Firefighters have reported hydrants are down in the region. CAROLINE BREHMAN/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockA spokesperson for the Department of Water and Power said crews were working in the neighborhood “to ensure the availability of water supplies.”
“This area is served by water tanks and close coordination is underway to continue supplying the area,” the DWP added.
Stay up to date with the NYP’s coverage of the terrifying LA-area fires
- A timeline of the LA Fires — from early weather warnings to rampant blazes
- ‘Extreme’ risk of LA fires spreading, new blazes sparking with return of dangerous 75 mph Santa Ana winds
- Trump anticipates rising death toll in LA wildfires: ‘We’re gonna find many bodies and many more, many more dead’
- Deadly Palisades Fire set ‘maliciously’ by Florida firebug Jonathan Rinderknecht, feds say
The three fires still burning in LA as of Tuesday — Hurst, Palisades and Eaton — and the acreage they have burned. New York PostNearly 300,000 California power customers were left in the dark early Wednesday morning as fires wreaked havoc in the region, forcing at least 30,000 residents — including celebrities — to evacuate.
The causes of all three fires are under investigation. APThe three fires – Palisades, Eaton and Hurst – have combined to take over 4,000 acres of land throughout Los Angeles County with zero containment.
The three fires are being fueled by strong winds, with gusts up to 60 mph, “dry fuels” and low humidity, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.
Firefighters battling the fast-moving Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California on January 7, 2025. Getty ImagesAll causes of all three fires are under investigation.
