LAKESIDE (KGTV) — I am at Lake Jennings in Lakeside. It holds millions of gallons of water. The water goes through the dam, to a water treatment facility.
After the water is treated, it is stored in huge water tanks. Then the water eventually makes its way to hundreds of fire hydrants in the community. This one was installed right in front of the church behind me. It can pump up to 3,000 gallons of waters per minute.
"That is all potable water. It feeds your fire hydrant systems. It feeds your water meter. You turn on your faucet in your kitchen. It is the same water that is in the fire hydrants," said Jeremy Davis.
Davis is with the Lakeside Fire Protection District. He is keeping a close eye on the fires in the Los Angeles. There have been reports that the hydrants went down and ran out of water. Officials say the water system had four times the normal demand.
“Just alone on the Eaton fire last night, in a 40 minute time period they requested 40 strike teams of engines. That equates to 200 fire engines. Put that with the local resources alone, 200 fire engines connected to a fire hydrant, trying to get water out of a pipe at the same time. The pipes are only designed to flow so much water," he said.
Not only that, Davis says if the power goes out, that impacts the water pumps.
“If you lose power to a pump station, that could take away half of what is available. You add fire engines, even homeowners using their hoses from their landscaping lines. A number of things. It is easy to overtax the system," Davis said.
If you live in an area with high winds, Davis keep a water supply on your property if you can.
"If your property is large enough and you can put it in your budget, get a water storage tank on your own property.”
He says it could be a big help, because many fire engines carry 500 gallons of water. And if the system goes down, that could run out quickly.
