In the late 19th century and early 20th century, entire cities were consumed by fire. As a result, building codes were adopted to minimize the spread of fire.
In the 21st century, we have sprawling cities built in wildland areas – and urban fires have returned. But we have not updated building codes nor implemented changes to reduce, if not prevent, urban fires, say the experts.
Experts share inconvenient truths about the wildfires burning in LA
For Cohen, shifting the conversation away from climate change is important because it gives us more control over our fire environment and will ultimately make us less vulnerable to these disasters.
“We don’t have to solve climate change in order to solve our community wildfire risk problem,” he said.
