{"id":10679,"date":"2017-12-08T02:34:20","date_gmt":"2017-12-08T02:34:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=10679"},"modified":"2017-12-09T02:37:42","modified_gmt":"2017-12-09T02:37:42","slug":"california-fire-damage-to-homes-is-less-random-than-it-seems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/california-fire-damage-to-homes-is-less-random-than-it-seems\/","title":{"rendered":"California fire damage to homes is less ‘random’ than it seems"},"content":{"rendered":"

Faith Kearns<\/a>, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

In the midst of the many wildfire<\/a> emergencies<\/a> that have faced California<\/a> this year, it can often seem that the way houses burn, or don\u2019t, is random. <\/p>\n

The thing is, though, it\u2019s not. Firefighters and researchers alike have a pretty solid understanding of why some houses are more vulnerable to wildfire than others. The real challenge ultimately lies in whether those with the power to act on that knowledge will do so.<\/p>\n

Available science<\/h2>\n

It is commonly thought that it takes direct flame to spread a fire, but this isn\u2019t always the case. Small embers are instead often the culprits that begin house fires<\/a> during wildfires. These small bits of burning debris can be lofted long distances by the wind. They can then end up igniting landscaping materials like combustible mulch, or enter homes through vulnerable spots \u2013 gutters teeming with debris, unscreened attic vents<\/a>, open or broken windows<\/a>, old roofs<\/a> with missing shingles. Once there, the embers smolder and can ultimately catch a house on fire.<\/p>\n

In California, iconic winds<\/a> work to create ideal ember-driven ignition conditions. The Santa Ana winds in Southern California \u2013 known as the Diablo winds in northern part of the state \u2013 have generally followed fairly predictable seasonal and spatial patterns. \u201cRed flag\u201d fire warnings<\/a> are often issued on dry days when the winds will be particularly fierce.<\/p>\n

\n \"\"<\/a>
\n Avoiding fire on Highway 101 north of Ventura, California.<\/span>
\n AP Photo\/Noah Berger<\/span><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While humans can\u2019t really control<\/a> as much as we\u2019d like to believe when it comes to disasters, we do have the ability to control where and how we build. For decades, most wildfire education and enforcement campaigns have focused on creating so-called defensible space<\/a> where landscaping vegetation is carefully selected and located on the property, as well as routinely maintained. <\/p>\n

This is not enough, however. Officials in California \u2013 as in other fire-prone states \u2013 need to help homeowners<\/a>, local governments<\/a> and builders<\/a> to understand there are also specific, science-based steps that can be taken to make structures themselves less vulnerable to fire<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Researchers recommend what is known as a \u201ccoupled approach\u201d to home and building survival. This means the development and maintenance of an effective defensible space, as well as the careful selection of construction materials<\/a> and correct installation to ensure that, for example, there are not gaps in siding or roofing that would allow embers to penetrate.<\/p>\n

Decision-makers also need to be willing to take on the most taboo topic of them all: recognizing that there are places houses simply shouldn\u2019t be built, or rebuilt, at all<\/a>. <\/p>\n

(Not) too urban to burn<\/h2>\n

Earlier this year, California had the first strong winter rains<\/a> after many years of drought. Now, after a typically dry summer, the state is experiencing a dry start to the rainy season<\/a>, particularly in the south. At the same time, people have continued to build into places known to burn regularly. The result of this confluence of events has been fires deeply affecting many thousands of people up and down the state.<\/p>\n

California residents are largely aware that not all fire is bad, and that many of our ecosystems thrive on regular fire. It\u2019s not something that we should, or ever could, hope to fully contain. Our only chance is learning, really and truly and finally learning, to live with it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In that vein, the state must look long and hard at some of the steps that have been the hardest to take \u2013 not building in places that are particularly fire-prone and matching building codes with a modern understanding of wildfire risk \u2013 if there is to be any hope of alleviating the human suffering these fires cause.<\/p>\n

\"TheWe are being invited to free ourselves from the notion that wildfire destruction is random and unpredictable, and that therefore there is nothing to be done about it. As the fire season in California gets longer<\/a>, the winds worsen<\/a> and wildfires move into areas once deemed too urbanized to burn, maybe the knowledge about what makes houses burn can finally be put to good use.<\/p>\n

Faith Kearns<\/a>, Academic Coordinator, California Institute for Water Resources, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

This article was originally published on The Conversation<\/a>. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Faith Kearns, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources In the midst of the many wildfire emergencies that have faced California this year, it can often seem that the way houses burn, or don\u2019t, is random. The thing is, though, it\u2019s not. Firefighters and researchers alike have a pretty solid understanding of why […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":10680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1862],"tags":[3662,272,3403,3357,2202],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10679"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10679"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10679\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10681,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10679\/revisions\/10681"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}