Planning Archives | Page 3 of 3 | Hills For Everyone

It’s a Planning Issue, Still.

by Melanie Schlotterbeck on December 14, 2017 with No Comments

Homes built to better standards can withstand fires better. However, even when they are built to better standards, the question remains: should we be putting people in harm’s way? It is a planning issue at the heart of the matter. No matter the fire-fighting resources you pour into stopping a fire’s progression, if it is wind-driven, it is a losing battle until the winds change (literally). Check out the Orange County Register article.

Great OpEd on Wildfires and Planning

by Melanie Schlotterbeck on December 7, 2017 with No Comments

Rick Halsey with the California Chaparral Institute writes a great OpEd on California wildfires. “As we do with earthquakes and floods, our goal should be to reduce the damage when wildfires arrive, not pretend we can prevent them from happening at all. That mindset starts at the planning department, not the fire station.” Check out the OpEd in the Los Angeles Times.

Study Finds Santa Ana Wind Fires Bigger/Faster

by Melanie Schlotterbeck on September 30, 2015 with No Comments

The OC Register printed a great article on why building at the Wildland-Urban Interface is NOT a great idea. It turns out, from this UCI published report, that Santa Ana Wind driven fires cause more damage (80% of the $3.1 billion in economic losses) and move faster (three times the speed of non-wind driven fires). It all comes back to planning. Jim Randerson says it best in the article: “We can’t keep increasing new exposure with new developments in high-risk, high-wildfire … Read More