Is there enough water to douse California's raging wildfires? Why can't ocean water be used?

The two biggest wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area have killed at least 10 people and burnt more than 10,000 homes and other structures.

Amid the crisis, firefighters trying to contain the nearly half-dozen blazes since Tuesday have encountered a major obstacle: the lack of water.

However, with a huge body of water just down the road, how could firefighters run out of water?

Lack of water

According to Chief Engineer Janisse Quiñones, the three water tanks of the Los Angeles Fire Department of Water and Power, each of which has a capacity of around one million gallons, ran out of water on Wednesday morning.

“We’re fighting a wildfire with urban water systems, and that is really challenging,” Quiñones said.

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday told CNN the fires had caused “complete and utter devastation. We’ve depleted all our resources,” as fire hydrants across the region ran dry.

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“Those hydrants are typical for two or three fires, maybe one fire. And then you have something at this scale.”

Firefighters were observed using a firefighting plane to collect water from the Pacific Ocean in response to the scarcity of water, according to USA Today.

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Ocean water to put out fires

Although this would seem like an easy fix, it is not the most obvious one.

Theoretically, seawater could aid a fire. However, because of the potential negative effects of its salty ingredients, firefighters usually refrain from using it unless absolutely required.

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Technology.org explains that salt can also lessen the cooling impact of water, making it less effective as a firefighting agent. Additionally, salt water retains a charge better than fresh water, which makes it somewhat riskier for firefighters.

Fire officials are also concerned about environmental health while using salt water to fight fires. Large amounts of salt water that are thrown onto a fire may eventually find their way into the ground or flow into adjacent bodies of water.

As one might anticipate at the scene of a wildfire, applying huge amounts of salt to regions with a lot of vegetation is nearly always harmful.

Increases in soil salinity, or the amount of salt in the soil, hinder plants’ ability to soak up water and nutrients from the soil. Additionally, salt can poison the soil, inhibit the growth of seedlings, and damage the soil’s overall permeability, which refers to how quickly nutrients and water can pass through the ground.

Having said that, firefighters do occasionally use salt water to combat flames; they simply need to use caution and judgment while using these techniques.

Desalination is required to use salt water as efficiently as fresh water, which is a controversial concept in parts of the United States.

Several environmentalists advocated for a systemic implementation to combat wildfires and droughts, while others believe it is unnecessary, costly, and inefficient.

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The Los Angeles wildfires

All the major fires broke out this week are located in a roughly 40-kilometre band north of downtown Los Angeles, spreading a sense of fear and sadness across the nation’s second-largest city.

In the hilly coastal neighbourhood of Pacific Palisades, the largest of the fires burning has destroyed over 5,3000 structures, and firefighters had no containment.

The Eaton Fire near Pasadena that started Tuesday night has burnt more than 5,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings, and vehicles. Firefighters were able to establish the first bit of containment on Thursday.

The Kenneth Fire started late Thursday afternoon in the San Fernando Valley, just 3.2 kilometres from a school serving as a shelter for evacuees from another fire. It moved into neighbouring Ventura County, but a large and aggressive response by firefighters stopped the flames from spreading.

About 400 firefighters remained on the scene overnight to guard against the fire flaring up.

Additionally, on Thursday, an evacuation was lifted after crews used water drops from planes to put out a fire in the Hollywood Hills .

Of the 10 deaths so far , Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley confirmed two were in the Palisades Fire. County officials said the Eaton Fire had killed five. Cadaver dogs and crews are searching through rubble to see if there are more victims.

At least five churches, a synagogue, seven schools, two libraries, boutiques, bars, restaurants, banks and groceries were burnt. Local landmarks, such as the Will Rogers’ Western Ranch House and Topanga Ranch Motel, dating to the 1920s, were also burnt.

AccuWeather, a private company that provides data on weather and its impact, on Thursday increased its estimate of the damage and economic loss to $135-$150 billion.

At least 180,000 people were under evacuation orders, and the fires have consumed about 117 square kilometres — roughly the size of San Francisco.

All schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest, will be closed again Friday because of the heavy smoke wafting over the city and ash raining down in parts.

Amid the wildfire crisis, several individuals were seen entering abandoned houses and looting . At least 20 arrests have been made as Santa Monica declared a curfew because of the lawlessness.

National Guard troops arrived in Los Angeles on Thursday evening. They’ll be stationed near fire-ravaged areas to protect property.

With inputs from The Associated Press