The Los Angeles fires were one of the most destructive disasters in U.S. history. As the immediate emergency response turns toward longer-term recovery and rebuilding, several challenges remain, including the region’s overwhelmed and vulnerable water infrastructure. Unfortunately, these challenges are not just limited to Los Angeles. The hydrants, pipes, and other systems we depend on for safety and survival remain underinvested and ill-equipped to handle mounting climate impacts across the country. In this episode of Metro Blueprint, Brookings Fellow Joe Kane and Greg Pierce, the research and co-executive director of UCLA’s Luskin Center for Innovation, discuss how the fires exposed long-standing challenges within water utility systems in Los Angeles and beyond and how policymakers can improve these systems amid a more extreme and destructive climate.