Fact-checking the NY Times’ Fact-checking
Fire mixed with Trump has addled the minds of the NYT Democratic Party PR staff. Dude, we know, Orange Man Bad! We get it! But reality intrudes. The destruction to homes and businesses these fires cause is less due to forestry management and more due to local and state zoning, and building regulations. Yes, it is bad forest management practices which create the forest fire problems, but those living in the wildland-urban interface are hamstrung by codes and regulations which do not allow them to reduce the fire risk on and around their properties. Often this it is even worse than that since the local governments have regulations which penalize individuals when they mitigate fire risk on their property. We already know what works to protect communities from firestorms, but we do not implement these policies. Shelter in Place Works! The Real Answer to Fire "This morning’s post on fire mentioned “shelter in place,” in which homes are made sufficiently firewise that people can safely remain in the homes during a firestorm. Five neighborhoods in the San Diego area were approved as shelter-in-place communities. The fires touched those neighborhoods, but not a single home was scorched. Despite this success, some people still question the practice, partly for liability reasons. Considering the chaos that often accompanies mass evacuations, I think shelter in place is very sensible. The next step is shelter and defend, in which able-bodied residents are given a bit of training to allow them to put out spot fires after the main firestorm has passed through their community." This article shows the problems facing those who want to promote Shelter-in-place standards. CBS News Doesn’t Get It These articles were written in 2007, eleven years ago. Even so, buildings, homes, and people in progressive states like California are still being lost to fires which cross from the forest to the wildland-urban interface and burn entire cities. Perhaps it is time to criminalize this political malfeasance? The problem is less where people choose to live and more whether they are allowed to appropriately use shelter-in-place techniques to protect their homes, property, businesses, and lives. The politicians in California have much to answer for. The NY Times underwhelms with its nonsensical hooting.
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