A lot depends on the county. A lot of new homes require fire sprinklers be installed in certain counties. Some or maybe all counties no longer permit wood roof shingles.
Public and commercial buildings in the state all require fire sprinklers. Many years ago I was a pipe fitter in Ventura County and installed main water lines and fire sprinklers, water hydrants on huge buildings in Ventura, Oxnard, Thousand Oaks, all areas you see on the news right now. So yes, there are fire prevention measures.
Brush does need to be removed around building with huge fines.
Problem is, and unless you have lived anywhere in southern CA especially, the topography is deceiving. A neighborhood can look very flat (like Orlando, FL), ride your bike and suddenly you're upon a canyon, that's wide open for anything, flooding, fires, growth of trees and brush, WIND.
There's parts like that all over the state except for the great San Joaquin valley. You never see a forest there much less a fire.
CA is basically semi-arid. Combine that with intense Santa Ana winds (70 mile an hour wind gusts), it's basically man against nature. Over-population is affecting housing and many, many communities are now built in the hills surrounding these canyons. It's a recipe for disaster.
Also, ever look at the physical boundary between CA and NV? It's amazing how almost all the mountains and trees are on the CA side with NV getting all the desert. That means CA gets most of the fires there too.
Fire is natural and NEEDED in our type of landscape. Redwood and other trees won't grow without a fire clearing the ground and allowing seedlings to sprout. There's no physical way to clear all the dead brush and trees that accumulate every season in a huge state with many mountains, hills and canyons. A season without a fire in natural settings is just a ticking time bomb.
Water, or lack of, mostly in SoCal is a huge problem. Out of state folks may not be aware the largest and longest water delivery system in the country is in CA. Water is pumped from Northern CA to Southern CA via aqueducts and holding lakes. Water beneath the ground is scarce. Los Angeles as we know it would not exist without this water supply.
Arid state, insufficient water supply, topography, Santa Ana winds and too many people all combine.
Think of CA canyons, with no water as a natural unlit furnace. Now blow some fierce air on it and knock a power line down. you toast. It's part of living here. Sad but true and beyond scary. |
