[ad_1]
The wildfires that devastated Southern California and reduced the entire neighborhood to ashes checkerboards left a difficult question about how to rebuild on this drybrush and windy land.
The answer may include more than a new home made from flame-resistant materials.
Although Altadena and Pacific Palisades have been reduced to a blank slate in nature, there is an opportunity to rethink themselves in a fundamentally safer way, experts studying wildfire behavior say. True paradigm shifts include strategic buffer zones, permanent escape routes and city fires.
“We have to do something different,” says Max Moritz, an auxiliary professor at UC Santa Barbara and wildfire expert, “we’re going to recreate what happened.”
Some changes are easy. Others may need to request new zoning laws or force homeowners to move.
The Times created a map showing a virtual Southern California city next to the mountains and asked experts to provide a wish list of fire risk precautions. The areas marked in the letter show how cities can be reconstructed and how existing areas can be used to protect against the next major wildfire.
The most effective changes may also be the most difficult.
Instead of rebuilding areas bordering the wilderness, the community was able to establish a protective shield for parklands, farm fields and even golf courses. Think of it as a speed bump to push the flame up.
This buffer zone may be enhanced by pockets of open space within the cityscape. For example, strip malls can be converted to tennis courts or public gardens with fire-resistant plants. The city can create a network of paved bike paths.
These functions serve as a place to create a position and shelter for the residents who are fleeing the fire, first responders.
“We’re always thinking about a layer of redundancy… about wildfires hitting more defensive spaces,” says Jonah Susskind, director of climate strategy at SWA Design Company.
Through a planning tool known as “relocation of development rights,” homeowners in high-risk areas can work with city officials to exchange safer local property. Some may be willing to leave, but others may resist abandoning major real estate by their appearance. Moritz admits that “many people find it undesirable.”
At the size of the neighborhood, experts have proposed several predictable safety measures. And something unexpected.
On certain streets, you can drive away the house facing the expected wildfire path and create yet another buffer zone. The power lines could be submerged underground. Fences that carry flames from home to home can switch from wood to metal or masonry.
Establish a buffer zone by choosing not to reconstruct the structure along one edge of the neighbour and planting fire-resistant vegetation.
Increased density can slow the spread of fires if the structure is built into strict code. Adus or the second house replaces the structure from the buffer zone.
A flammable wooden fence along the property line can be replaced with metal or masonry.
Establish a buffer zone by choosing not to reconstruct the structure along one edge of the neighbour and planting fire-resistant vegetation.
Increased density can slow the spread of fires if the structure is built into strict code. Adus or the second house replaces the structure from the buffer zone.
A flammable wooden fence along the property line can be replaced with metal or masonry.
Graphic report by David Wharton
Lorena Iniges Elevy Los Angeles Times
Additionally, in situations where housing is required, evacuated housing can be replaced with accessory housing units on the same block. Large lots can be divided to accommodate two homes.
It may sound counterintuitive, but if the structure is built to modern standards and is landscaped with fire-resistant plants, the increased density can actually be safer, experts say. Simply put, the flames have less room to spread and less fuel.
A 2023 report from the Federal Emergency Management Agency states that unlike scattered houses, “high-density designs can be considered as one large “building” or development,” making defense easier.
The problem is that it has not yet been decided whether fire science research is still too close.
“The house may still have to be bigger than the lowest distance,” Moritz says. “It could be 10 or 15 feet. No one knows.”
Within 5 feet of the house
Replace soft scapes such as plants and mulch with hard scapes such as masonry or gravel.
Replace flammable plants such as juniper with succulents. Store your BBQ in a propane tank in this zone.
Park motorcycles and RVs in this zone. Adjust the branches of the tree below and move the wood pile away from the vegetation.
Within 5 feet of the house (zone 0)
Replace soft scapes such as plants and mulch with hard scapes such as masonry or gravel.
5-30 feet (zone 1)
Replace flammable plants such as juniper with succulents. Store your BBQ in a propane tank in this zone.
30-100 feet (zone 2)
Park motorcycles and RVs in this zone. Adjust the branches of the tree below and move the wood pile away from the vegetation.
Graphic report by David Wharton
Lorena Iniges Elevy Los Angeles Times
The discussion about safer and smarter reconstruction comes with two important disclaimers.
Southern Californians may not accept some of the recommendations, particularly when it comes to relocation. Also citing the wildfires of Eton and Palisade, Suskind said, “It’s 100 mph winds per hour, which is not a problem.”
However, such extreme conditions are rare and allow individual homeowners to take steps to protect themselves against more common wildfires.
Residential facilities should be viewed in terms of three zones beginning with a 5-foot boundary around the home. Anything that can burn should be cleaned up from this area and replaced with a hard scape like gravel or cement.
There are additional restrictions for the next two zones to spread outward: Many of them are associated with trimming vegetation and holding things like propane barbecues and recreational vehicles far away.
At a recent press conference outside Dodger Stadium, Gov. Gavin Newsom suggested that Southern California needs a better choice (easy and difficult) as it is trying to rebound.
“We have to adapt to reality,” he said. “We’re not going to double down on stupid things.”
Assistant Editor in Graphic Development, Data and Graphics by Sean Greene and Vanessa Martínez.
Newsletter
Please get it if you have a fire newsletter
As the threat of wildfires increases, we want to help you prepare. We will provide you with advance preparations and what to do if a disaster occurs. Your email will land in your 7-week inbox every Thursday.
Please enter your email address
Please sign up
We sometimes receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
[ad_2]Source link
