JOSH EDELSON / AFP
Faced with the fires which devastate the surroundings of Los Angeles, the firefighters find themselves helpless and the water supply service in dire straits (illustrative photo showing an intervention by firefighters in a school in Altadena, northeast of Los Angeles ).
UNITED STATES – Images of the same kind follow one another on American television channels: firefighters fighting against the fires which are devastating Los Angeles and its surroundings, and who suddenly find themselves deprived of water, in the middle of an intervention. While California’s largest city is engulfed in flames and surrounded by five simultaneous fires, the work of firefighters is complicated by difficulty accessing water, particularly at fire hydrants.
A subject that Donald Trump quickly took up, well before having expressed the slightest sympathy towards those concerned, whether they are firefighters or residents. In a publication on his Truth Social network, the man who will be inaugurated president of the United States for a second time in mid-January thus tackled Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor of California, attributing full responsibility for the situation to him.
Trump thus explains that the Californian authorities have favored the protection of an endemic fish, thehypomesus transpacificusin the vote on a text organizing the state’s water supply. “ Fake news »respond Gavin Newsom’s teams, who specify that the water law mentioned by Donald Trump does not even exist.
At the same time, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is facing numerous attacks, even though she left for an official trip to Ghana at the very time when alerts were increasing about possible fire outbreaks. At issue: a significant reduction in the allocation of the city’s firefighters voted last year, and which pushed the head of the fire brigade, Kristin Crowley, to publish a memo at the beginning of December to be alarmed: “ This budget reduction has largely limited our ability to anticipate, train for and deal with large-scale emergencies, particularly forest fires. » Sadly premonitory.
A system not designed to be used to this extent
However, beyond these political considerations and the quest for responsibility, the lack of water is very sensitive to those working on the ground. The LADWP (for Los Angeles Department of Water and Power), guarantor of the water and electricity supply to millions of people in Los Angeles and surrounding cities, has also called the populationWednesday January 8 in the morning, to save as much water as possible.
« Our water distribution system continues to operate efficiently “, added an official, Mark Pestrella, in response to criticism of the action of local authorities. Before conceding: “ But it is not designed to fight forest fires. Fighting flames by simultaneously using multiple fire hydrants is not sustainable, that’s a fact. »
What Jay Lund, professor of civil engineering at UC Davis, explains to Reuters: “ The question isn’t whether there’s enough water available in Southern California, it’s whether there’s enough water for those few hours when you’re going to have to fight fires in town. . » For example, between Tuesday and Wednesday, the pressure on the water distribution system was four times higher than a usual peak, for 15 consecutive hours, said the LADWP. All in a context of “ worst possible scenario », to use the words of an American meteorologist, between the drought and the winds which fuel the flames.
A colossal logistical challenge
However, this demand for water has medium-term consequences: the supply systems are so stressed that the reservoirs located on the heights, where there are many fire sources, no longer have time to be filled, and are emptying faster than they receive water from the gigantic reserves located beyond the urban area of Los Angeles. This is why the LAWDP finds itself having to manage colossal logistics to find tanks located in preserved areas and thus supply the firefighters, even though the city’s reserves were completely filled before the first flames on Tuesday.
With of Time magazineAndrew Whelton, professor of engineering at Purdue University, adds that in urban areas, giant fires like those in Los Angeles severely affect the water supply system. Flames can melt and damage pipes, causing leaks. And an additional blow to the resource available to firefighters.
For a ABC channel antennaa local firefighting specialist also highlights another difficulty: the power supply. With the flames and the means implemented by the firefighters, this network is also under tension. “ If you lose power at a pumping station, you can lose half of the water resources available at the fire hydrants. Add to that fire trucks, individuals using their garden hoses… It’s very quick to overwhelm the system », Details Jeremy Davis, of the Lakeside firefighters, in southern California.
In this context, external resources had to be mobilized on a massive scale. Helicopters and water bomber planes multiply rotations above the Hollywood Hills and Pacific Palisades, 140 tank trucks have been mobilized by the State of California, and human resources are being summoned in droves.
The fact remains that at the end of the crisis, which has already caused five deaths and required the evacuation of 100,000 people, major measures will have to be taken. Janisse Quiñones, chief engineer of LADWP, has already explained: “ We will have to look at our organization in terms of response to natural disasters at the regional level. And it will be much broader than just our department, it will concern all agencies related to water. »
Source: www.huffingtonpost.fr
