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Why do we keep building houses in places that burn down?
Firefighters spray water on a burning home November 15, 2008 in Yorba Linda, California. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)
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Why do we keep building houses in places that burn down?
Every year in California, there seems to be a bigger, crazier, more destructive wildfire. But every year, new houses go up in their path. And it's not just some houses, but thousands of houses — over 85,000 new houses in high fire risk areas in L.A. County alone, between 1990 and 2010.
Shouldn't we know better by now? Why do we keep building houses in places that are likely to burn? I decided to find out by following a proposed development in a fire-prone area of Orange County.
Read the full story on LAist >>
This story is part of Elemental: Covering Sustainability, a new multimedia collaboration between Cronkite News, Arizona PBS, KJZZ, KPCC, Rocky Mountain PBS and PBS SoCal.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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