Camp Fire renews focus on blaze-safe homes over tree care

摘要

Wildfire experts reviewing aerial photographs of damage from the Camp Fire in California have noticed an odd twist in the landscape: neighborhoods reduced to ashes, surrounded by evergreens that are singed but not burned. In those spots, the trees didn't set the homes on fire. The burning houses almost ignited the trees. The pattern of damage from November's Camp Fire, which destroyed more than 11,000 homes, illustrates a hard truth that some groups and researchers say is lost in debate over how to manage forests for wildfire. The right design, construction and maintenance of property within 30 feet of a house may offer more protection than thinning thousands of acres of nearby forest.