The images of Los Angeles engulfed in flames are hard to stomach, but what makes this wildfire crisis even harder to comprehend is the revelation that firefighters are running out of water at critical moments. It’s a scene straight out of a dystopian novel: blazing fires consuming homes while hydrants run dry, leaving firefighters powerless to stop the destruction.
Rick Caruso, former LA mayoral candidate, wasn’t wrong when he raised alarms about this issue earlier today.
And yet, in classic fashion, some local media figures instinctively dismissed the claim—only to be corrected minutes later by their own reporters. This reflexive need to shield California’s Democratic leadership from criticism is as predictable as it is damaging, and it raises serious questions about accountability in the state.
By the afternoon, LA authorities finally conceded the truth: the Pacific Palisades water system did run out of water. Janisse Quiñones, the chief engineer for the Department of Water and Power, explained that the system had faced unprecedented demand, draining three million gallons of water across three tanks in just 15 hours. Fire crews trying to reroute the water supply were even forced to evacuate as flames became too intense. The system simply couldn’t keep up.
“This is like a 3rd world country”
Rick Caruso says there is 0 water coming out of the fire hydrants. Mayor Bass is in Ghana. pic.twitter.com/GPXmDVvLS1
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 8, 2025
It’s not an isolated problem. In the Eaton Fire near Pasadena, the story was the same. Homeowners watched helplessly as flames consumed their historic properties while firefighters reported they had run out of water. Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin confirmed the strain on resources, with dozens of engines drawing from a finite water supply.
While experts claim negligence or poor planning may not be directly to blame, this situation screams of systemic failure. California has faced devastating wildfires for over a decade, and yet here we are, watching a lack of basic preparedness turn a bad situation into a catastrophe. Running out of water during a wildfire should be unthinkable, but apparently, it’s just another day in the Golden State.
In an attempt to debunk Rick Caruso, LA morning anchor Melvin Robert is embarrassingly fact-checked by their own on-the-ground reporter: pic.twitter.com/lCvfMEnXxJ
— MarioFakerREAL 🥸 (@mario_faker) January 8, 2025
The deeper issue here is the culture of one-party governance in California. With Democrats firmly in control of every lever of power, there’s little incentive to dig into failures or hold anyone accountable. If no one wants to rock the boat, who will step up and say, “This is unacceptable”? Certainly not Mayor Karen Bass, whose focus seems to be anywhere but on LA’s crisis, nor Governor Gavin Newsom, who seems more concerned with his national profile than the state he was elected to lead.
