As the catastrophic fires continue to burn in Los Angeles, a fascinating documentary of the 1961 Bel Air fire has resurfaced, and it's as if it were talking (and warning us) about today's Palisades and Eaton Canyon fires. Only, unlike today's "experts," the narrator of Design for Disaster: The Story of the Bel Air Conflagration 1962 explains the dangers of living in the flammable hills of LA - especially perilous when the Santa Ana winds hit - with old-fashioned facts, rather than modern-day misinformation and conspiracy theories. The most eye-opening moment in the 27-minute film, which was produced by the Los Angeles Fire Department more than 60 years ago, was the segment about dry fire hydrants. "Even in attempts to save individual homes, firemen are further thwarted by the loss of water. How can a modern water system properly designed to meet emergency fire conditions fail to function?" the narrator asks. He then goes on to explain.
"When thousands of outlets are opened below the hill, water pressure is lost in the overtaxed main, regardless of the amount of water above the houses," he says. "When the water supply comes from a distant location and supply pipes dead ends on the hill, unnecessary use of too many outlets below the fire area simply drains the water out of the upper system. ... "
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