America Under Increasing Wildfire Threats.
Fierce winds and months of drought set the conditions for the catastrophic wildfires in Los Angeles this month. But the growth of housing in and around the city’s fire-prone hills over the past few decades also played a major role.
Most of the homes that have been damaged or destroyed so far were nestled in or near hillsides covered with highly flammable vegetation. Even dense urban neighborhoods like Altadena were vulnerable to embers blown from the burning hills nearby.
Across the country, including in California, millions of Americans have been moving to places at risk of burning, particularly developments on the outskirts of cities that bump up against forests, grasslands and shrub lands. The rapid growth in these areas, known as the “wildland-urban interface,” has increased the odds of devastating blazes, especially as climate change fuels larger and more intense wildfires across the West.
By Mira Rojanasakul and Brad Plumer, ‘New York Times’
The wildfires tearing through Los Angeles after nearly of year of no rain should surprise no one. A simple spark from a backyard fire pit could have ignited this blaze after no precipitation fell for nearly a year. Unfortunately, precautions to prevent the rapid spread were not in place. Multi million dollar homes with multi millions dollar views were far more desirable than smartly building homes with sufficient distance between them to help stop the spread of wildfires. Building homes with fire precautions in place will no longer be optional. Or at least should not be.
