Why the water Trump ordered released in California won't help Los Angeles firefighting

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Why the water Trump ordered released in California won't help Los Angeles firefighting


By Jonathan Vigliotti, Nicole Brown Chau February 3, 2025 / 1:50 PM EST


Following the deadly wildfires in Los Angeles in January, President Trump ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to release billions of gallons of water from two reservoirs in California's Central Valley, more than 100 miles away from the fire zones.

Mr. Trump had claimed that California withheld water supplies that could have made a difference in fighting the flames. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other officials disputed those claims.

Now, the water released from dams at Lake Kaweah and Lake Success is rushing into a dry lakebed in the Central Valley, where experts say it can't flow to Southern California and will likely go to waste.

"There is absolutely no connection between this water and the water needed for firefighting in L.A.," said Peter Gleick, a climate and hydrology expert. "There's no physical connection. There's no way to move the water from where it is to the Los Angeles basin."

Gleick, who co-founded the Pacific Institute, a research center in Oakland, says the move ignores the reality of water management in California.
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