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Just as people ask if we should be building new houses by the beach, people ask if we should be building new houses in places at risk of wildfire. Los Angeles County was already debating this before the Eaton Fire destroyed many homes. Lauren Sommer of NPR's climate desk reports.
LAUREN SOMMER, BYLINE: When I met Nick Aronsen (ph), he was still somewhat in shock.
NICK ARONSEN: I am coping. We got out just in time. You know, we got our animals. We got my kids.
SOMMER: His home in Altadena, California, was one of more than 9,000 that burned in the Eaton Fire.
ARONSEN: It was completely gone. I keep telling people that the fridge was gone. Like, I don't understand how a fridge just disappears to dust.
SOMMER: Aronsen is trying to take care of his family, as well as the community, because he's vice chair of the Altadena Town Council. He says a lot of people are asking how to re build better.
ARONSEN: The focus needs to be on what can we plan for now. How can we know the danger we live in now? Try to improve it.
SOMMER: It's something Altadena was already working on. For months, the community had been debating a new development plan - one that controls building decisions. It would increase the density of housing inland to help address a big housing shortage. And it would restrict the amount of housing in the foothills - the area most at risk for wildfires.
ARONSEN: To make our town safe, we do have to have some supervision. And we hate to dictate to anyone that, no, you can't develop even though you've been waiting 40 years to do that.
SOMMER: That's exactly the pushback they got.
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UNIDENTIFIED BOARD MEMBER #1: Item 7 is a hearing on Project No. 2023-0039.
SOMMER: In December, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors heard public comments on the new plan.
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UNIDENTIFIED BOARD MEMBER #2: The plan will direct development away from the Altadena foothills and other high fire zones.
SOMMER: Altadena resident Joe DeMasa (ph) called into the meeting to say his 50 acres in the foothills would be affected. The new rules would limit the housing he wants to build for his extended family.
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JOE DEMASA: The downzoning of our property from 52 homes to just two isn't just a number. It destroys the dreams we hold for our family's future.
SOMMER: When it came time to vote...
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UNIDENTIFIED BOARD MEMBER #1: Motion carries, 4 to 0.
SOMMER: The plan to limit housing in the foothills passed. Then the Eaton Fire hit. I called DeMasa's daughter, Kara (ph), just after the fire to see what happened to her family's land. It's where they run a summer camp.
KARA DEMASA: I haven't been able to access it yet, but all of the pictures that I've been sent just show total devastation. And all of the buildings were destroyed.
SOMMER: Her family had opposed the plan because she says the county didn't consider how it would hurt the value of their property. But after seeing the impact of this fire, she's glad the building limits will be in place.
KARA DEMASA: Yes, I am glad about it because I think it gives us a hope that our hillsides will be hillsides again, and I certainly don't want to see huge developments go up. I definitely don't.
SOMMER: Altadena's wildfire building limits are tougher than what many other Western communities have. Jennifer Balch, professor of geography at the University of Colorado Boulder, says millions of homes are still being built in fire-prone areas. And wildfires are spreading more explosively now, in part, because of human-caused climate change.
JENNIFER BALCH: We're building into flammable landscapes and just ignoring the fact that we're building into flammable vegetation. And we are increasingly doing that. Like, it's not changing any time soon.
SOMMER: Building decisions are local decisions, and it can be tough for elected officials to say no to growth and a bigger tax base.
BALCH: Nobody likes to hear about constraints. But at the same time, do we want our neighborhoods to burn down? No. And there are things that we can do and we should be doing to mitigate that risk.
SOMMER: Even if communities don't want to limit building, Balch says it's important that homes be built out of fire-resistant materials. California has building codes that require that in risky areas, but many other states do not. Lauren Sommer, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF GIBRAN ALCOCER'S "IDEA 9") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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