The world’s richest man Elon Musk lauded the “extremely competent” Caruso, who unsuccessfully ran as a Democrat in 2022’s Los Angeles mayoral race, on Wednesday.

"The hydrants are down," said one firefighter battling the Palisades Fire, as crews contend with diminished flows from hydrants.

Businessman and former mayoral candidate Rick Caruso compared the Pacific Palisades to a "third-world country" and said the area has no water in the hydrants to mitigate the spread of the 2,900-acre fire.