Water experts dismissed Trump’s claims that California water policy is to blame for dry hydrants. But Los Angeles is also unprepared for the age of urban wildfires.

As wildfires roar into residential neighborhoods, firefighters in California and elsewhere are finding that water systems can’t keep up with the demand.

Though wildfires have always happened, warming global temperatures are making them more frequent and severe. For instance, scientists calculated last year that our overheating planet has contributed to a 172% increase in areas burned by wildfires in California since the 1970s.

The Palisades Fire, which has destroyed an estimated 1,000 structures, was first reported at around 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 7 in the 1100 block of North Piedra Morada Drive.

Indeed, as wildfires become increasingly common in urban areas such as Boulder, Colorado and Lahaina, Hawaii, public water systems are often unable to meet the demand of fighting these large fires. Human-caused climate change is making it worse, experts say.

We had tremendous demand on our systems in the Palisades,” Quiñones said. “We pushed the system to the extreme. Four times the normal demand was seen for 15 hours straight.”