Backup power and full water tanks should be required in face of wildfire, lawmaker says.
It’s been more than seven years since fire hydrants in southern Ventura County rapidly ran dry as the Thomas fire exploded — something Assemblymember Steve Bennett hoped he would never see repeated.
But in November, firefighters again found themselves short on water as the Mountain fire roared through the foothills of Camarillo. Officials later confirmed that at least one water pump there was offline for almost nine hours before it was connected to backup power. Power losses also left area water pumps useless for hours during the 2017 Thomas fire. Pumps are needed to refill high-elevation tanks to maintain water pressure.
“I thought, after the Thomas fire, all water districts would put in backup generators.”
But that was not the case.
