A reservoir in the Palisades that holds 117 million gallons of water was offline this month for previously scheduled maintenance.

As of Thursday, the Palisades fire had reached 15,000 acres, spreading to Malibu and Topanga and torching homes and restaurants along the Pacific Coast Highway. One resident told the Washington Examiner ’s video producer Natasha Sweatte that his community is coming together in this time of crisis.

Los Angeles has been battling fires fueled by violent winds of up to 160km/h. Nearly 180,000 people have had to flee their homes. Since the start of the fire, which broke out near Pacific Palisades before moving into the San Fernando Valley,