Local fire officials acknowledged Wednesday that they are overwhelmed by the power and size of three major fires in Los Angeles County, putting an extreme strain on their crews and resources.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Malone acknowledged Wednesday that firefighters were requesting additional support and personnel over the emergency radio, and acknowledged that they simply didn’t have the manpower for an emergency of this scale. .
“We tried to get them the help they needed,” Marrone said Wednesday. “We’re doing the best we can. But no, Los Angeles County doesn’t have enough fire personnel among all departments to handle this.”
Marrone said Los Angeles County has 9,000 firefighters between the county fire department and 29 other fire agencies, but all the fires that broke out across the region during the strongest winds in years. He said there was “not enough” to deal with it.
Marrone said late Tuesday that he had requested mutual aid from neighboring counties, as well as additional crews and trucks from the California Department of Emergency Services and from outside the state, all of which responded and are on track. said Wednesday.
Still, officials said they have operational plans for potentially “life-threatening” storms. Marrone said Northern California firefighters are “pre-positioned” in the Santa Clarita Valley and Santa Monica Mountains, known hot spots for fires.
However, fires occurred in various areas, including Pacific Palisades, Altadena, and Sylmar.
“LA County and all 29 fire departments within the county are unprepared for this type of widespread disaster,” Marrone said.
Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Christine Crowley agreed, adding, “These fires are straining our emergency services to their limits.”
On Wednesday, about 1,500 firefighters assigned to the Eaton and Palisades fires prepared for a tough day as polar winds drove the fires.
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Crowley said.
Crowley said all aircraft were grounded around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night due to strong winds and were unable to fly until at least 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Lacking air support, firefighters on the ground did everything they could to save the house and stop the fire, but considering the strong winds, it proved to be an almost impossible task.
Another problem firefighters faced was a lack of water at some hydrants in the Pacific Palisades, where more than 1,000 homes were lost. Firefighters there could be heard complaining about the problem over the radio. The Ministry of Water and Power said the problem occurred due to the unprecedented load on the system.
“There was a tremendous demand for our system in the Palisades. We pushed it to the extreme,” Janice Quiñones, CEO and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said Wednesday morning. told. “We saw demand four times higher than normal for 15 straight hours and water pressure dropped.”
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