Los Angeles fire hydrants are shutting down as firefighters battle historic blazes

Firefighters struggled to get fire hydrants working properly Tuesday as several fires in the Los Angeles area began to rage, with hydrants in Pacific Palisades completely dry early Wednesday, according to fire and water officials speaking at a news conference Wednesday in the morning. There are currently three major fires burning in the Los Angeles area that have destroyed over 1,000 buildings and killed two people, and thousands more have been evacuated.

“We were trying to keep the water on at every elevation on the Palisades, and I think around three o’clock in the morning, that’s when the hydrants ran dry,” Janice Quinones, chief executive of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said at a press conference Wednesday.

The hydrants were receiving water from a nearby reservoir, and Los Angeles Fire Chief Christine Crowley said they did not have a specific number of hydrants that eventually ran out of water, but stressed that it was temporary and “coming in stages.”

“Our firefighters always have a master plan, a backup plan, a contingency plan and a contingency plan. So often, just so the public is aware, in large bushfires, water supplies are usually limited,” Crowley said. “So with that, our device has that ability to pull water if we need to from pools, lakes, any kind of water resources. We also use the water auctions…”

The frustration of not having water at the hydrants is not new and has become a point of contention with people who say it is the result of mismanagement. Rick Caruso, a billionaire real estate developer who ran an unsuccessful campaign for Los Angeles mayor in 2022, told the LA Times that officials at his nearby property, Palisades Village, reported hydrant difficulties on Tuesday.

“There’s no water in the fire hydrants,” Caruso said LA Times. “The firefighters are there (in the neighborhood) and they can’t do anything — we have neighborhoods burning, homes burning and businesses burning.”

Caruso blamed city officials but didn’t seem to mention the challenges posed by climate change, which has made Southern California’s current fire crisis that much worse.

“The Los Angeles County Fire Department was prepared for one or two large brush fires, but not four, especially given these sustained winds and low humidity,” said Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony S. Maroon on Wednesday.

The three fires currently burning in the Los Angeles area now include the Eaton Fire near Pasadena at 2,200 acres, the Hearst Fire in the San Fernando Valley at 500 acres, and the Palisades Fire at more than 5,000 acres. Two people died and while the exact number of injured has not yet been reported, the number is “significant”, according to LAist.

The Santa Ana winds 99 mph winds gusted late Tuesday near Pasadena caused the wildfires to spread dangerously, according to the New York Times. Tens of thousands of people are currently under mandatory evacuation in Southern California, and emergency centers have been set up to handle not only people fleeing the flames, but pets as well.

CBS reporter Jonathan Vigliotti share a video at X Wednesday morning of the devastation in Pacific Palisades, with many buildings apparently destroyed.

This is what is left of Pacific Palisades. The mall survived. Almost everything else is gone. Homes, apartment complexes… businesses. pic.twitter.com/Vfz721V48J

— Jonathan Vigliotti 🐋 (@JonVigliotti) January 8, 2025

Over 1,000 buildings were destroyed in the Palisades fire, including the local public library, which was considered a total loss. Pet shop Malibu food bin posted on Facebook that the business was also destroyed after 60 years of operation.

Some wealthy people seem to be looking for some kind of shortcut around city services that can help them in their time of need, especially since Pacific Palisades is generally a very wealthy area. Keith Wasserman, a tech CEO and real estate investor, placed a call on Tuesday night X in an attempt to find a private fire department to save his home.

“Does anyone have access to private firefighters to protect our home in Pacific Palisades? You have to act fast here. All the neighboring houses are on fire. Will pay any amount. Thank you,” Wasserman wrote in a viral a tweet.

Wasserman had previously tweeted to complain about the cost of property taxes, the very thing that funds Los Angeles firefighters, even asking President-elect Donald Trump to cut them for everyone, seemingly unaware that property taxes are decide at the local level.