The Great Los Angeles Fire: Currently in progress fire Los Angeles and surrounding areas has been announced the largest in the history of the region – Jason Kirkpatrick, a climate expert born in Los Angeles and former vice mayor of Arcata, tells us California. He adds that the burning area is practically a desert, surrounded by flammable trees and bushes, so the fire could not be preventedespecially since there was a very hot and dry so-called Santa Ana “devil” wind. In some of these places, not at all, according to Kirkpatrick there should be no buildings. Confirmed so far 10 deaths and 180,000 people were evacuated people.
Material for building houses is a problem: The photos show that there is practically nothing left of the burned houses. This may raise questions about the materials used to build homes in Los Angeles. – For Europeans who are accustomed to brick houses, it may be surprising that in California and most Western states, most houses are built of wood, and this is a serious problem, Kirkpatrick told us. He explains that this is because there are huge amounts of forests on the Northwest Coast of the USA. – When I was a kid in southern California we faced fires, I had to go to the roof of our houseu, which was covered with wooden shingles, i I sprayed the fire with a garden hoseso that ash or embers do not cause further fires – says our interlocutor.
What's next for Los Angeles County residents? Many of them have a problem because companies insurance in general no longer cover fire damage. Moreover, many people are underinsured because: they can't afford a decent oneand therefore the way policy before the fire. – Government the feds will have to step in, says Jason Kirkpatrick.
What can Los Angeles do in the future? Our interlocutor explains that we have short- and long-term ways to deal with fires. It is impossible to prevent them, so it is necessary first of all find ways to provide more support for firefighters. A long-term solution, however, would be tackling the climate crisis. – Climate change is causing fires to intensify, including in Los Angeles. So we need to start looking for solutions to the problem, instead of wasting money subsidizing dirty fossil fuels. We need to move towards clean energy, solar and wind, which are better for the climate and will help reduce extreme weather events, says Kirkpatrick. In his opinion changes to improve the climate will be much cheaper than the amount that is already transferred from public money to fuel subsidies. AccuWeather estimated that sDamage caused by the recent fires in Los Angeles could amount to as much as $57 billion.
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