BBC:
As firefighters battled infernos ravaging the Los Angeles area for a second day, they struggled with water supply to their hoses and hydrants, and firefighters, unaccustomed to fighting multiple blazes at once, were overwhelmed by flames.
Officials detailed on Wednesday morning how the fires had strained the city’s water supply, asking residents to conserve water usage and noting that water quality diminished as the system was pushed to its limits.
“We’re fighting a wildfire with urban water systems, and that is really challenging,” said Janisse Quiñones, head of the city’s water and power department.
The water systems in Los Angeles are for urban use, she explained – homes and businesses – not large firefighting efforts, which the city and county do not typically face.
LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone acknowledged that the county and its 24 departments were also not built for this scale of disaster.
“There are not enough firefighters in all of LA County to address four separate fires of this magnitude,” he said.
They were prepared for one or two brush fires, but not all four, Chief Marrone noted.
Fire officials have responded to 3,624 calls since the fires broke out; the department average is under 1,500 calls in a 24-hour period. Emergency services were also deployed to another 32 structure fires in the city.
