The speed and intensity of the blazes ravaging Los Angeles this week have put its firefighting infrastructure to the test — and given rise to questions and criticism surrounding preparedness.<\/p>\n
Hydrants ran dry in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood as it was ravaged by one of the region\u2019s five separate fires, while water shortages additionally hampered efforts elsewhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need answers to how that happened,\u201d California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote in a letter to the heads of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the Los Angeles County Public Works.<\/p>\n
Calling the lack of water and water pressure \u201cdeeply troubling,\u201d Newsom directed state officials to prepare an independent report on the causes.<\/p>\n
Chris Sheach, assistant professor of disaster management at Paul Smith\u2019s College in New York state, told AFP part of the problem is that the city\u2019s fire-fighting infrastructure wasn\u2019t designed for enormous multi-acre conflagrations.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir system is built to fight individual house fires,\u201d he said, or for \u201cresponding to commercial or residential structure fires.\u201d<\/p>\n
The amount of water used for one building compared to the amount needed to squelch a fire burning across thousands of acres is quite different, he added.<\/p>\n
Early firefighting efforts created four times the normal demand for water over approximately 15 hours, Janisse Quinones, CEO and chief engineer at the city\u2019s water department, told the New York Times.<\/p>\n
Apart from that, Los Angeles fire chief Kristin Crowley has said her city is hampered by a lack of resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have, over the past three years, been clear that the fire department needs help. We can no longer sustain where we are,\u201d she told CNN Friday, explaining the necessity for more staff, resources and funding.<\/p>\n
She said this included the need for 62 new fire stations amid a 55 percent increase in call volume since 2010.<\/p>\n
US President-elect Donald Trump, who returns to the White House in just over a week, has seized upon the drama to attack Democrats, launching a series of evidence-free broadsides accusing Governor Newsom of a variety of failings.<\/p>\n
He has even tried to blame a lack of water on environmentalists\u2019 efforts to protect the smelt — a small fish that lives hundreds of miles away from the fires.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that we have such a low number of fatalities despite the massive property losses is a testament to the work of fire chiefs and government officials who have been timely,\u201d Sheach, the professor, said.<\/p>\n
The fires have so far destroyed around 10,000 buildings, California\u2019s fire agency reported, while the Los Angeles County medical examiner\u2019s office has put the death toll at 11.<\/p>\n
California firefighters \u201care some of the best firefighters in the world. They do this so often,\u201d Sheach said, adding that they were better trained than in most other localities because \u201cit\u2019s their reality.\u201d<\/p>\n
How can a city like Los Angeles be better prepared in the future? And would it mean hiring more firefighters or increasing water supply?<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are decisions that politicians have to work with their community, because what\u2019s right for each community is going to be up to how much they\u2019re willing to pay,\u201d Sheach said.<\/p>\n
Decreasing risk means spending more money, he explained, calling the situation a giant \u201crisk-reward decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
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