LA's burning lessons
If You Own A Home, The LA Wildfires Are Trying To Tell You Something
A third of American homes, or about 48 million properties, are at risk of wildfires. Here's how to protect yours.
·
2.5k reads
·
The Lede
The fires that swept through the Los Angeles area were the result of an extreme scenario: The confluence of hurricane-force winds, dry brush after months of drought, and the construction of old homes near combustible wildlands set the stage for the blazes to spread rapidly. The ongoing fires bear a warning for other cities that have pushed residents farther and farther from the urban core in search of space to build.
Key Details
- The risk of fire damage is greatest in areas known as the wildland-urban interface, or WUI, where human-made sprawl meets undeveloped land.
- Data from the US Forest Service indicates the number of homes in WUIs grew by almost 50% from 1990 to 2020; about 48 million homes, or almost a third of residential units nationwide, are in counties that face a high risk of fire.
- Homeowners in California and beyond, architects and researchers tell BI, must begin wrestling with how to fortify their own houses.
