Source: https://e360.yale.edu/features/climate-change-drinking-water

On November 8, 2018, a power line dropped into dry grass in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, north of Sacramento, and ignited the deadliest fire in California’s history. Powerful winds swept flames through Paradise and several other small towns in the tinder-dry forest, killing 85 people, destroying 18,000 structures, and causing more than $16 billion in damage.

Among the fire victims was the city’s water system, poisoned by the toxins in smoke. “Every time a home burns, it’s an open line to the atmosphere,” said Kevin Phillips, a former town manager and the district manager for the Paradise Irrigation District, which provides drinking water to more than 9,000 customers. “You are squirting water out [of lines that supply homes] at full speed and eventually [the system] depressurizes. That creates a vacuum effect and sucks in smoke with contaminants back into the system.” Smoke from burning trees, plastics — including PVC water pipes — and other materials contain benzene and other carcinogens. A year after the fire, testing revealed levels of benzene 80 times higher than the legal limit in some drinking water samples.