The former commissioner of the Los Angeles Board of Water and Power blamed the city’s old infrastructure for the poor response to fires ripping through the state.

More than 30,000 Californians have evacuated and more than 28,000 are without power as multiple wildfires spread across Southern California. Meanwhile, the Pacific Palisades area is citing low water levels that are aggravating efforts to extinguish it and resulting in 0% containment as of Wednesday morning.

Former Commissioner Rick Caruso, who owns the Palisades Village, received reports there is not enough water. The city has a long-standing problem with supplying the hydrants in the area with water from the nearby reservoirs, Caruso said.

“There’s no water in the fire hydrants,” Caruso told the Los Angeles Times. “This is a window into a systemic problem of the city — not only of mismanagement, but our infrastructure is old.”

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power personnel said in a statement that the water supply in the area comes from “water tanks” but that the department still has to transport water there.

“Water System crews are also responding to the Pacific Palisades area to ensure availability of water supplies to support firefighting efforts,” the department wrote. “LADWP has crews onsite working alongside LAFD and the Palisades Fire Incident Command to ensure continued availability of water supply in the area.”

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Caruso is a Los Angeles developer of high-end hotels and shopping centers. He switched party affiliation from Republican to Democrat before he launched his mayoral bid in 2022, which he lost to Mayor Karen Bass.

California is also experiencing a wind storm, which is helping spread the fire. Power lines have been toppled during the storm.