California ’s Wildfire Problem Could Be Solved by a Few Legal Changes

A version of this story first appeared in the Climate is Everything newsletter. If you’d like sign up to receive this free once-a-week email, click here. It’ll take billions of dollars, tens of thousands of new forestry workers, and a systematic rethink of the way we build homes and manage the land to solve some parts of California’s wildfire crisis. Other aspects might be fixed with a paper and pen. As a series of conflagrations burn through much of California, displacing thousands and filling skies with smoke, it might seem strange to say that changes to a few statutes could make a difference. Indeed, the lion’s share of the problem of West Coast wildfires is systemic, with decades of overgrowth in California forests combining with hot, dry weather exacerbated by climate change to create the perfect storm for the blazes that have consumed more than a million acres in the state this year. Easy answers have been hard to come by, with disagreements over strategy rampant and state and federal agencies at odds with one another over how to prevent seasonal wildfires going forward. But some lawyers say that tweaking a few legalities could make a real difference. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Take liability laws around controlled burns. Small, well-managed burns are an essential aspect of land management in many fire-prone areas, removing tall brush and dead foliage that can cause bigger fires to burn out of control under the worst weather co...
Source: TIME: Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Uncategorized climate change healthscienceclimate Source Type: news