LA Wild Fires

By TLS

Los Angeles wildfires 2025.

I was speaking with someone just the other day and he referenced all the problems LA is having with the wildfires. He commented how stupid they were that not one reservoir had been built in the past 20 or 30 years and that fire hydrants were going dry while attempting to fight the fires.

I heard stories on the news that some hydrants went dry. I heard other stories reporting that was not quite accurate. Even if there was plenty of water too many pumper trucks could be problematic. If enough pumpers we're pulling on a particular water line at the same time, that may lower pressure enough that trucks wouldn't be able to pull enough water. Regardless of how many reservoirs there may be in the area.

LA and California are a mess, there’s no arguing that. Over the last several decades California has grown to be the most populated state. Their water supply has not kept up with that demand, for many reasons. There have been many contentious battles over water rights in the state and throughout surrounding states. The Colorado River is probably the most notable.

Many political and cultural as well as environmental factors influence policy. Perhaps even to the point of paralysis and inability to accomplish any significant improvements. The Resnick’s have been referenced often following this fire and their ownership, or apparent ownership, of a significant portion of California’s water sources.

My acquaintance above said how stupid Californians were for not building dams to store water. I did not debate the issue with him. He was ranting, and I was there in an official capacity for another reason. But I suspected I already knew the answer. I just now did a Google search. AI was unable to identify one single (substantial) dam built in the US in the past 30 years. How many removed? Hundreds. This includes all states, including my acquaintance’s state. Which I’m sure he would find acceptable since his wasn’t having a problem at the moment.

Water supply is a problem, this is nothing new. California burns almost every year, this is also nothing new. There will be plenty of charges, finger-pointing, and blame about all of this, there is no doubt about that. I’m sure there are plenty of legitimate issues which contributed to this disaster. I’m also sure there are plenty of incompetent and even nefarious contributing issues.

I suppose some people might actively prevent additional water sources in order to bolster their own positions. This would be colossally ignorant and short-sighted. However if there’s one thing people are exceptionally good at, it’s ignorance and short-sightedness.

If California teaches us anything, it’s that ignoring problems doesn’t make them disappear. Fire will always come, water will always be scarce, and politics will always drag its feet. The real question is: will we accept short-sightedness as our fate, or finally demand the long-term solutions we’ve avoided for decades?