As more wildfires burn in Southern California, including the Palisades Fire in the Los Angelesauthorities made the rare move of collecting ocean water to help fight the flames.
Salt water can damage equipment, infrastructure and wildlife — but sometimes firefighters still have to use it, according to Frank Papalia, a former New York City Fire Department captain and fire safety expert at Global Security Group.
“When someone falls, gets hurt, maybe breaks his neck or something like that, you don’t move him. [But] if there is fire around them, or there are chemicals around them and the like, they will die. So you have to move them — you have no choice,” he told Fox News Digital.
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A house is seen burning as residents try to escape the scene in Pacific Palisades, California on Tuesday. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The main way to use salt water to fight fires is to retrieve it from the ocean by plane or helicopter and dump it from above, he said.
This is already being done in Southern Californiawhere large forest fires are getting out of control, the video shows. However, one plane was taken out of service after someone flew a drone into its wing. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating, and a spokesperson told Fox News Digital that obstructing firefighters is a federal crime punishable by up to a year in prison and a $75,000 fine.
Firefighters battle the Palisades Fire as multiple structures burn in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
While saltwater can damage infrastructure, kill wildlife and have other consequences, sometimes it’s a necessary trade-off, Papalia said.
“In this case, your city is burning to the ground, so using salt water isn’t that bad,” he told Fox News Digital. “The problem is they’re limited to how many planes they can fly at once, how far they have to go and how much water they can hold. Yesterday you couldn’t fly because of the wind.”
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A Super Scooper aircraft drops water on the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, Calif., on Tuesday. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Current fire hydrants do not use salt water for several reasons. They use the same pipes to supply fresh tap water to homes and businesses. They are not resistant to corrosion. And the cost of installing a new saltwater hydrant system connected to ocean pumps “would be ridiculous,” Papalia said.
Fire hydrants also rely on pressure, which is lost when each hydrant opens at the same time.
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But fire engines themselves can use salt water – they just have to be close enough to get it and need a thorough cleaning afterwards.
“We have them at JFK,” Papalia said of the New York airport. “We’re pumping water out of Jamaica Bay. If you’re going to do it on the beach, how are you going to push the fire engine into the sand?”
On Wednesday, the Eaton fire set fire to a vehicle in Altadena, California. (Ethan Swope/AP)
At least 10 people died in fires across Southern California, according to authorities, and Los Angeles Sheriff Robert Luna said he expected the death toll to rise. More than 130,000 people were ordered to evacuate their homes.
California Governor Gavin Newsom The bureau said the state is sending more than 7,500 firefighters and support personnel to help Los Angeles as the fires continue to rage.
A firefighter battles flames from the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, on Wednesday. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Neighboring states, including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah and New Mexico, also sent firefighting resources.
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“There is no doubt that this will be one of the worst fires in the history of the world,” Papalia said.
