“Ryan Babroff hurried to a nearby hydrant, hoping to help firefighters and residents douse the massive flames consuming homes in this mountain community northeast of Los Angeles. But when he pried it open, no water came out. The hydrant was empty,” says the Washington Post on January 10.  

The wildfires in California are raging through neighborhoods, destroying schools and important historical landmarks, yet there is not enough water to put them out. Fire hydrants across the western coast of California have no water pressure, meaning nothing comes out. One reason this is happening is that, due to the spike in demand, there is not enough time to fill the underwater tanks which hold up to millions of gallons of water. The water reserve cannot be restored quickly enough. The fight against these historic blazes is far from over, but 1500 firefighters, police officers, and other emergency responders are working together to try and contain them. “I’ve always found that natural disasters like wildfires and floods bring an important sense of unity within a community.” says junior Kyle Donnegan.  

 There are 7 exceptionally large wildfires whipping through California, however 2 of them have been extinguished or almost extinguished as of Monday, January 13. The Palisades and Eaton fires are still burning and shifting winds make people worry about what they will engulf. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Pacific Palisades Fire has, “Burned 23,713 acres and numerous homes, businesses and landmarks in Pacific Palisades and westward along Pacific Coast Highway, toward Malibu.” Junior, Lila Johnson says, “It is so awful that this is happening.” 

 The cause of these fires is currently unknown; however, authorities have started investigating possible manmade causes. These may include arson, fireworks, and other objects that may have accidentally ignited a fire. The climate in southern California right now also may have something to do with why the fires are spreading so rapidly. California’s 8-month drought has brought very dry and arid conditions to the state. CNN says, “Inconsistent vegetation management, aging infrastructure and homes, and a lack of planning likely contributed to fires.” Brush and other dead and dried out plants are very flammable, so they are easily ignited by wind-swept sparks. 

 “Los Angeles city and county officials have characterized the fires as a “perfect storm” event in which hurricane-force gusts of up to 100 miles per hour prevented them from deploying crucial aircraft that could have dropped water and fire retardant on the drought-ravaged neighborhoods early on,” states CNN. These strong gusts of wind are known as the Santa Ana winds, and they carry heavy smoke, ash, and embers miles further away from their origin point which cause the fires to spread quickly. Despite an unknown initial cause, a combination of Santa Ana winds, a lack of water, and dry brush has caused these fires to spread many and many miles.  

On January 7, a Super Scooper dropped ocean water on top of the Palisades Fire.  

 One tool being utilized to put out these fires is called the Canadian Super Scoopers. These aircrafts are planes sent from Canada which “were specifically designed for dousing forest fires, the CL-415 aircraft can scoop water, mix it with foam if needed and then spray it on the blaze” according to News 18. Super scoopers are made to dip down to lakes, ocean, or large bodies of water, skim the top and intake 6,000 liters of water. These planes have been crucial in dousing the flames and isolating the fires from spreading to more communities. The captain of the aircraft can choose where the water will be dropped, however, when going 350 km/h, aiming the water to be perfectly dropped on the water can be exceedingly difficult.  

Freshman Kimya Howell says, “I was actually born in LA and have heard that some old friends have lost their houses. I hope that people will band together to support these people in their hour of need.” Many organizations, companies, and celebrities have pledged to donate millions of dollars to various charities supporting the families and businesses affected by the fires as well as multiple relief funds for affected communities and firefighters. According to NBC News, “The Walt Disney Co. said today it is opening its wardrobe warehouse to employees and their families who lost their homes to the devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area. Disney last week also pledged $15 million to help in rebuilding efforts after the Palisades and Eaton fires destroyed thousands of homes and other structures.” All these efforts to support the people who have lost their homes and jobs are particularly important to the communities and to their tough journey ahead.  

If you would like to donate to these relief efforts, you can contribute online to many organizations. Donations can be made at redcross.org, the L.A. Fire Department Foundation, the California Community Foundation, or other organizations that are donating money and supplies to the people without food, water, clothing, or homes in California due to the fires.