Unfortunately a 90% solution only stops around 40% all wildfires. We need to do it, yet, but California is still going to burn. People are still not going to follow best fire prevention practices, both because of ignorance and poor regulation. People are still going to build in the wildland urban interface.
The places that don't burn now are just saving up more fuel for bigger fires in the future. The idyllic mountain cabin surrounded by large pine trees and ladder fuels is lost. Roads with brush up to the lines are death traps. Housing developments in box end canyons are the definition of insanity. Climate change is making large fires more frequent. Sparks from fallen lines have killed hundreds, just wait till we get a deranged but gifted arsonist that understands meteorology.
The first place for an excellent start begins at your home. It's going to take the power company years or decades to retrofit. Push the brush and trees as far back as possible. Start a neighborhood preventative fire group. Demand your city and country cut brush back from roads.
> The first place for an excellent start begins at your home.
The 99% Invisible podcast did an episode on this [1]. There is strong evidence that even very intense forest-fires won't cause buildings to burn if they take well-known preventative measures.
I don't know how much of the financial damages from the utility companies are owed to homeowners, but it certainly seems like homeowners aren't absolved of responsibility if their house burns when they've ignored preventative measures.
The places that don't burn now are just saving up more fuel for bigger fires in the future. The idyllic mountain cabin surrounded by large pine trees and ladder fuels is lost. Roads with brush up to the lines are death traps. Housing developments in box end canyons are the definition of insanity. Climate change is making large fires more frequent. Sparks from fallen lines have killed hundreds, just wait till we get a deranged but gifted arsonist that understands meteorology.
The first place for an excellent start begins at your home. It's going to take the power company years or decades to retrofit. Push the brush and trees as far back as possible. Start a neighborhood preventative fire group. Demand your city and country cut brush back from roads.