As devastating wildfires raged across Los Angeles County this week, firefighters battling the blazes encountered fire hydrants that had no water. Why it matters: The dry fire hydrants sparked political outrage and illustrated just how unprepared municipal water systems are to combat the sorts of large-scale urban wildfires that have become more frequent with climate change.

Gov. Gavin Newsom orders independent investigation into how the loss of water pressure left fire hydrants dry, hindering firefighting efforts in Los Angeles.

Some fire hydrants in Los Angeles had no water to douse the fires. Here's what happened, and why the endangered smelt fish wrongly got blamed.

With Southern California ablaze, the lack of water leaves many wondering, why not use ocean water to combat fires?

How do you fight a fire with no water?” Ryan Babroff, a volunteer firefighter battling the Eaton Fire, told The Washington Post. At some point this week, up to 20 per cent of the city’s hydrants went dry,