Wildfires are a serious problem in America and given the fluctuating nature of climate change, analysts are predicting that this summer will see a large rise in them that will threaten people out west.
Just last month in Los Angeles, a 1,000-acre fire that began near a highway was put out by firefighters who trapped it and kept a close eye as it burned out. While this fire burnt out, it put many Californian residents on edge, as this highway fire seems to be a prelude of what’s to come.
According to this Climate Central article, much progress still needs to be made in how to handle wildfires and more research done to make sure they don’t happen. John Upton writes, “Experts say the keys to adapting Western lives to these wildfire risks lie in how fires and the lands that fuel them are managed; and in how yards, neighborhoods and cities planned, built and run.”
The problem with wildfires, it seems then, is that they are the result of many factors from the ground up. Their unpredictability is partly fueled by unkempt city conditions. The Los Angeles highway fire, for example, was amped up due to pine needles, dead leaves and other fuels that had built up in scrub and forest during a decades-long absence of fire. Things like that can be cleaned up and while wildfires are naturally occurring, we can at least make sure that they don’t get amped up, which is why fire codes are so important. Knowing local and national fire codes is the first step in helping prevent wildfires and other types of fires. Contact John Michael Agosti & Associates for more details.
At Agosti & Associates we provide consulting and expert witness services in the areas of Fire/Explosion Investigations; Fire and Building Codes; and Fire Department Operations and Procedures.
