As flames from the Palisades Fire tore through more than 15,800 acres and destroyed over 1,000 buildings, firefighters faced an unexpected challenge: empty fire hydrants. Los Angeles officials confirmed that overnight Tuesday, some hydrants in the hilly Pacific Palisades area ran dry due to “extreme demand” and low water pressure.
The Palisades Fire, first reported at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, showed no signs of containment by Wednesday. Fire crews battled tirelessly, but the massive water usage overwhelmed the area’s infrastructure, leaving hydrants at higher elevations without adequate pressure.
Janisse Quiñones, chief executive and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), revealed that all three of the area’s 1-million-gallon water tanks were emptied by 3 a.m. Wednesday. The tanks, crucial for maintaining pressure in the elevated Palisades, couldn’t refill quickly enough as firefighting efforts consumed water faster than the main trunk line could supply it.
“We had a tremendous demand on our system in the Palisades. We pushed the system to the extreme,” Quiñones said during a press conference. “Four times the normal demand was seen for 15 hours straight, which lowered our water pressure.”
The tanks supply the pressure needed for hydrants in the hilly terrain, but firefighting operations—which required multiple hose lines to tackle the blaze—quickly drained the system. As the tanks ran dry, hydrants in higher elevations lost functionality, hampering efforts to contain the fire.
The LADWP and city officials faced backlash from residents who blamed poor planning and outdated infrastructure for the water shortage. Some even alleged that the city had failed to adequately fill the tanks before the fire. However, Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) Capt. Erik Scott refuted these claims, explaining that LADWP had proactively filled all available water storage tanks ahead of time.
“We did experience some challenges with water pressure while battling the Pacific Palisades fire, particularly yesterday,” Scott told CBS News. “The problem is, the water availability was impacted at the higher elevations. The pressure wasn’t quite what we needed, and so it affected some fire hydrants.”
Scott emphasized that the extreme demand on the system—driven by the need for multiple hose lines—was the root cause of the water shortages. “We’re using maybe four times the normal amount of water because we’re having to use so many hose lines to put out the fires,” he added.
Mark Pestrella, director of Los Angeles County Public Works, acknowledged the limitations of the municipal water system, noting that it was never designed to handle the demands of wildfire suppression.
“A firefight with multiple fire hydrants drawing water from the system for several hours is unsustainable,” Pestrella said.
The crisis was further compounded early Wednesday by high winds and dense smoke, which grounded firefighting aircraft—a critical resource for containing fast-moving wildfires. Pestrella urged residents to conserve water and take precautions to preserve the water supply for firefighting efforts.
“I would ask that you turn off your water and turn off your gas before you leave the residence so that we can continue to have that water supply for the hydrant system,” Pestrella advised.
As flames continued to advance, residents of Pacific Palisades watched helplessly as their homes and neighborhoods were consumed by the fire. Social media buzzed with frustration and fear, with many questioning whether the city’s infrastructure was prepared to handle the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires in California.
The Palisades Fire’s devastation is the latest in a string of catastrophic wildfires fueled by drought, climate change, and urban sprawl into fire-prone areas. For many, the lack of water pressure underscored the urgent need for investment in modernizing water and emergency infrastructure.
Los Angeles officials and firefighting crews are now working to address the immediate challenges while assessing long-term solutions. The LADWP has vowed to improve water system resilience, particularly in areas prone to wildfires, while the LAFD continues to strategize on how to combat fires in difficult terrain with limited resources.
In the short term, officials are urging residents to remain vigilant and cooperate with evacuation orders. “This is an all-hands-on-deck situation,” Scott said. “We need the community’s support to ensure we can focus our resources where they’re needed most.”
The Pacific Palisades Fire serves as a stark reminder of the challenges posed by wildfires in an era of climate extremes. As firefighters battle to contain the blaze, the focus now shifts to preventing future crises and ensuring that California’s communities are better prepared to face the growing threat of wildfires.
