"I don't know if I'd trust getting on a plane." @ceboudreau @ATecotzky and I spoke to over a dozen current and former employees at @NOAA. They expressed concern over less accurate forecasts and aviation issues, among other things, amid steep cuts.

I wish people who distrust the media could see the lengths I just went to to confirm one phrase in a 3,000-word story

So much confusion over the White House pause on federal loans and grants. I want to know what disaster aid, climate, and energy projects are affected. Please reach out w/ information, even if you're scrambling to understand what it means. 802-782-9286 (also on Signal).

Other reporters @latimes, @LAist, @washingtonpost, @AP, etc. have also worked hard to get the facts. Read our work instead of rage-bait from randos. https://t.co/ZB9qKvoS7r https://t.co/peeBkakTq6 https://t.co/ldlQc8jKqf https://t.co/7VP7Ga2CvU

But again, this isn't linked to what's happening in LA. There is water. "There is no connection between the delta smelt and the water challenges of fighting a fire in Southern California," Mount said.

In December, the Biden administration and California officials finalized a plan. It replaced one that Trump approved in 2019, which Newsom litigated.

There is a long-standing debate over how to allocate water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta — where water in northern California flows into the San Francisco Bay — to agriculture and urban areas without harming trout, salmon and yes, Delta Smelt.

Trump, in a post on Truth Social, falsely tied those problems to a separate issue: How water is exported from a watershed in northern California to farmers and cities in the southern part of the state like the Central Valley and LA.

Water flows from those reservoirs into a complex network of pipes, pumps, and tanks that stretch across LA. Jeffrey Mount, a senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California Water Policy Center, said the fire hydrant shortage was a local "infrastructure bottleneck."

That said, there is NO shortage of water in southern California. Reservoirs are at record levels, thanks to 2 years of rain and snowpack in the Sierra Nevada. This map is from the California Department of Water Resources:

Plus, local water systems for neighborhoods just aren't designed to deliver enormous volumes of water to fight an urban wildfire. "We're fighting a wildfire with urban water systems, and that is really challenging," Quiñones said Wednesday.

As water depleted, so did pressure in the system. So pumps couldn't push water uphill into the tanks in hilly Pacific Palisades. Firefights and city officials couldn't refill the tanks fast enough as flames engulfed entire neighborhoods.

The problems in Pacific Palisades stemmed from water tanks. Three were depleted late Tues/early Wed after water demand was 4x higher than usual as firefighters rushed to put out the flames, according to Janisse Quiñones, head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

I spent the last day tracking down why some fire hydrants in LA didn't have water after social media swirled with false information. Thread on what happened, and why it ISN'T related to the endangered Delta Smelt fish, as @realDonaldTrump claimed 1/ https://t.co/FC1opAFjFU

The #PalisadesFire is devastating, compounded by the fact that #insurance companies are dropping homeowners in risky areas. Please reach out if this is your experience.

Lawsuit by poultry farmers alleges the lengths Tyson Foods will go to stifle competition: -Close plant/force farmers out of biz -Collude to prevent another meat co from hiring them -Silence/intimidate I covered ag. Poultry contracts were often compared to "indentured servitude"

Lil Wayne got $9 million from a COVID relief fund meant for struggling arts venues. He spent it on luxury hotel stays, designer clothes, and travel to and from nightclub appearances around the country. Incredible reporting by @TheNewsHam & @ByKLong: https://t.co/enif4Tg4TD

Shout out @hallam_bullock, @lilykatzman, @TimSParadis, Lisa Ryan, @bartielouscott & many others who helped make it a success!

An update: This week marked the last @BusinessInsider sustainability newsletter. It's been a fun 2.5 years! I'm grateful to our readers & the BI team that supported it along the way. I'm still reporting on climate & the energy transition, so stay in touch. I'm on Blue Sky, too.

.@Amazon has announced that nearly all deliveries in North America no longer include plastic air pillows. Oceana's Matt Littlejohn spoke to @businessinsider's @ceboudreau about why this is such welcome news for our oceans! @PressOceana