Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) was recently criticized for a misleading statement he made during an interview on ABC concerning the debate over a non-operational water reservoir in the Palisades, which had the capacity to hold 117 million gallons of water. Commentators have noted that this reservoir could have served as a crucial resource in managing the wildfires in Los Angeles, yet they attribute the failure to keep it functional to the California government.
In the early stages of the fire, reports indicated that fire hydrants in Los Angeles had run completely dry, hindering efforts to combat the fierce flames. Inquiring about this situation, an ABC anchor posed the question to Schiff, “Why did so many of those fire hydrants simply run dry?” Linking it to the empty reservoir, he further asked, “Was there something related to that 117 million-gallon reservoir in the Palisades that was out of operation? What’s your understanding? What’s your initial read on this?”
Schiff replied, “Well, my initial take, and I certainly want a full review of this, so that I can form a more complete understanding of the matter.” The senator then asserted that the reservoirs were “full” at the onset of the fires. “But my initial understanding is the reservoirs that the Palisades were drawing on, these 3 million-gallon reservoirs, were full at the initiation of these fires,” he stated.
He then implied that the reservoirs might not have been particularly beneficial given the scale of the fires. The California Democrat elaborated, “But they’re intended, frankly, they have the capacity to extinguish homes that may house multiple residences, not if the entire town is ablaze, and especially not if the winds are so strong that aircraft cannot operate.”
“This was the issue from the outset,” he remarked. “The winds were of hurricane strength, reaching speeds of up to 100 miles per hour; flying under such conditions is impossible, and we rely on the ability to conduct water drops to extinguish such intense flames. I must consider that there are likely hundreds of towns in California, and thousands more across the nation, that find themselves in a similar predicament. If they experience winds of that magnitude and possess a significant amount of dry fuel, they would have no more water available than this community did.”
Users swiftly challenged Schiff’s assertion on social media, presenting an alternative perspective. The well-known conservative account, I Meme Therefore I Am, shared the video clip, stating, “Adam Schiff appeared on national television and misled the American public once again, asserting that the reservoirs ‘were full at the initiation of these fires.’”
Accompanying the clip of Schiff’s remarks was a screenshot of an NBC News article that contradicted his claims. The headline of the article stated, “Reservoir in Pacific Palisades was out of commission when the fires began.” Governor Gavin Newsom has since called for an investigation into the factors that contributed to the water supply issues in Los Angeles.
Watch Schiff below:
I Meme Therefore I Am continued, “A straightforward Google search indicates that there is a current investigation into the reasons behind the Pacific Palisades reservoir being offline. Furthermore, it reveals that the Santa Ynez Reservoir has been shut down since February for repairs to its cover, resulting in the 117-million-gallon water storage facility being empty in the center of the Palisades for almost a year.”