Los Angeles Wildfires: Misinformation and the Reality of Water Infrastructure
The devastating wildfires that recently ravaged Los Angeles have ignited a firestorm of misinformation, particularly concerning the city’s water resources and their role in combating the blazes. Prominent right-wing figures and online commentators have falsely claimed that Los Angeles lacked sufficient water to fight the fires, attributing the devastation to everything from water being diverted to pistachio farms to conspiracies involving "globalist elites" and 15-minute cities. These narratives, however, stand in stark contrast to the assessments of water experts and officials, who assert that Los Angeles has ample water resources. The real issue, they argue, lies in the city’s water infrastructure, which is not designed to handle the scale and intensity of these unprecedented wildfires, exacerbated by climate change.
Experts like Mark Gold, director of water scarcity solutions at the Natural Resources Defense Council, confirm that Los Angeles has abundant water reserves, historically high in fact, thanks to heavy rainfall in preceding years. Marty Adams, former general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP), corroborates this, emphasizing that the stored water far exceeds any conceivable firefighting needs. False claims about water shortages, including those made by figures like President-elect Donald Trump, who wrongly blamed California Governor Gavin Newsom for mismanagement of water resources, are simply inaccurate and irrelevant to the Los Angeles fires, according to Gold. Conspiracy theories targeting The Wonderful Company and its owners, the Resnicks, for supposedly controlling California’s water, are similarly unfounded and laced with anti-Semitic tropes. Company representatives deny any involvement in fire water management.
The focus on water scarcity deflects from the real problems: a water infrastructure ill-equipped for megafires and the intensifying effects of climate change. Stephanie Pincetl, director of the California Center for Sustainable Communities at UCLA, stresses that the issue isn’t a lack of water but an infrastructure geared towards everyday needs, not "cataclysmic, biblical-size fires." While the temporary emptying of the Santa Ynez reservoir for repairs may have marginally impacted firefighting efforts, experts like Michael Wara from Stanford University believe it wouldn’t have significantly altered the outcome. Speculations about deliberate emptying of the reservoir, as aired by figures like Mel Gibson, are unsubstantiated. Similarly, the conspiracy theory alleging intentional water withholding to facilitate the creation of 15-minute city "open-air prisons" is baseless misinformation, as confirmed by DWP officials.
The limitations of the existing water infrastructure were exposed when several fire hydrants malfunctioned during the initial stages of the Palisades and Eaton fires. DWP officials explained that the fires created an extreme surge in demand, exceeding the system’s capacity and leading to pressure drops that rendered some hydrants unusable. While these hydrant failures presented challenges, experts point out that even a fully functioning hydrant system wouldn’t have been sufficient to contain the rapidly spreading wildfires. The high winds not only directly fueled the fires but also grounded aircraft crucial for aerial water drops, leaving firefighters on the ground virtually helpless against the inferno.
The Los Angeles water system, like those in most cities, is designed for conventional firefighting scenarios—individual structure fires, not massive wildfires engulfing vast tracts of land. Josh Lappen, a climate researcher at the University of Notre Dame, notes that it’s disingenuous to expect this system to handle such extreme events. The magnitude of these fires, driven by climate change and hurricane-force winds, demands a different approach. Greg Pierce, director of UCLA’s Water Resources Group, argues that no city could realistically possess ground-based water infrastructure capable of single-handedly extinguishing such fires. Aerial attacks, vegetation management, home hardening, and increased firefighting capacity are all crucial components of an effective response.
The Los Angeles wildfires underscore the urgent need to adapt firefighting strategies and infrastructure to the realities of a changing climate. While adequate water resources are essential, the focus must shift towards building more resilient systems capable of withstanding and combating larger, more intense fires. This will require significant investment and a reassessment of how we prepare for and respond to these increasingly frequent and destructive events. The fires also highlight the dangerous spread of misinformation, which distracts from the real issues and hinders effective solutions. Addressing climate change, investing in resilient infrastructure, and combating misinformation are crucial steps in protecting communities from future wildfire disasters.