A Los Angeles firefighter combatting the area’s devastating fires told Mel Gibson that he wasn’t made aware of the county’s depleted water reservoirs, sayings it was “surprising” to run out of water so early in their fight.
Braveheart star Mel Gibson joined NewsNation in a ride-along with a local first responder to tour the damage earlier this week.
“None of us were aware of the water issues with the reservoirs and stuff,” the unnamed firefighter said.
Gibson asked if his team had been informed that “the reservoir was empty.” The responder said no, adding they initially had water but ran out “fairly quickly.”
“It’s not uncommon for us to lose water in our firefight. It’s just that early in the game was surprising,” the firefighter said, to which Gibson responded: “Because yeah, it wasn’t there. And no one told you? That’s crazy.”
Mel Gibson later toured what remained of his Malibu home — most of which was destroyed in the fires.
The actor said he was OK with it because he plans to “look forward” rather than backward. When asked about his Academy Award statuettes for Braveheart, he said they are kept elsewhere and weren’t affected by the blaze.
As Breitbart News reported, a key Pacific Palisades reservoir was closed and empty when the wildfires swept through the area and devastated the community.
The Santa Ynez Reservoir is connected to the Los Angeles water supply system, and authorities said it was shut down for repairs at the time the fires erupted, depriving the area of 117 million gallons of water.
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