<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Even as flames in Southern California continued to carve a destructive path on Friday and fire officials sought to assess the damage and determine how the fires began, a larger question loomed: Could this level of devastation somehow have been minimised, or is this simply the new normal in an era of climate-related calamities?</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A CNN review of government reports and interviews with more than a dozen experts suggests the ultimate answer is a mix of both.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Los Angeles city and county officials have characterised the fires as a "perfect storm" event in which hurricane-force gusts of up to 160km/h prevented them from deploying crucial aircraft that could have dropped water and fire retardant on the drought-ravaged neighborhoods early on.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/los-angeles-fires-continue-to-blaze-horror-day/412fede1-72fb-4384-9131-bf18b74648da"><strong><span>Fears of another horror day as LA fires continue to blaze</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The consensus of experts interviewed by CNN was that the combination of those winds, unseasonably dry conditions and multiple fires breaking out one after another in the same geographic region made widespread destruction inevitable.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Nonetheless, humans could have taken some steps to potentially lessen the impact of Mother Nature's wrath.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Inconsistent vegetation management, aging infrastructure and homes, and a lack of planning likely contributed to fires that have so far scorched more than 142 square kilometres, destroyed thousands of structures and left at least 10 people dead.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/no-water-system-in-the-world-could-have-handled-the-la-fires-how-the-region-could-have-minimised-the-damage/7373ca93-423e-4abd-8601-31cd1ae09127" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass promised a full investigation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Rest assured…we will absolutely do an evaluation to look at what worked, and what didn't work, and to correct – or to hold accountable – anybody, department, individual, etcetera," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h2><span>'Got dry hydrants'</span></h2></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Part of that investigation is certain to focus on a key ingredient in fighting fires: water.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As high winds stoked flames Wednesday morning, firefighters could be heard on radio broadcasts relaying an alarming development.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We've lost most of the hydrant pressure," one firefighter said around 2.45am (local time) as he requested help refilling fire engines, according to a county dispatch recording.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Got dry hydrants," said another.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Experts told CNN even fully functioning hydrants would not have been enough to battle fires of the magnitude of those that raged this week, particularly when air resources, such as helicopters and fixed-winged aircrafts were grounded due to the wind.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I don't know a water system in the world that is that prepared for this type of event," said Greg Pierce, a water-resource expert at UCLA.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/la-fires-australian-expat-bryanna-reynolds-los-angeles-evacuated/47d4e177-853b-4920-a5ef-a6dffe65503d" rel="" target="" title="Bryanna was on the couch when ash began pouring from the sky"><strong><span>Bryanna was on the couch when ash began pouring from the sky</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Still, fully operational hydrants could have helped minimise some of the damage, saving a house here, or snuffing out embers there.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In the Pacific Palisades – which is at the far end of the municipal water system and experiences reduced water flow due to decreasing pipe sizes extending from the main line – the dry hydrants were due to unprecedented demand placed on a system that was not designed for fighting wildfires, said Janisse Quiñones, chief executive officer and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Quiñones said firefighters battling the blaze in the Palisades created four times the normal demand in the area for 15 straight hours.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Three separate storage tanks of roughly one million gallons of water each support fire hydrants in the area.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>These tanks sporadically ran dry Tuesday night and Wednesday morning leading the pressure in fire hydrants to drop.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Quiñones said 20 per cent of hydrants used to fight the Palisades fire ran dry on Wednesday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We're fighting a wildfire with urban water systems and that is really challenging," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This is an unprecedented event."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On Friday, the </span><em><span>Los Angeles Times</span></em><span> reported that a nearby reservoir was undergoing repairs and was empty at the time of the fires, further hampering firefighting efforts.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hours later, California Gov. Gavin Newsom called for an independent investigation into the problems with the water supply for firefighters battling the blazes.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The ongoing reports of the loss of water pressure to some local fire hydrants during the fires and the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir are deeply troubling to me and to the community," Newsom wrote in a letter, which he posted on X.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/celebrities-among-those-who-lost-homes-as-devastating-los-angeles-fires/22adfbef-cdb2-4cbb-be91-503d22da1933"><strong><span>Actor finds home miraculously spared on street ravaged by fires</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The letter was addressed to Los Angeles County Public Works Director Mark Pestrella and Quiñones.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We need answers to ensure this does not happen again and we have every resource available to fight these catastrophic fires," the governor said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Across town in Altadena where the Eaton Fire broke out Tuesday evening, problems with dry hydrants traced back to a lack of electricity, said Bob Gomperz, a board member at a Southern California water supplier which provides water to the western region of Altadena.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In an interview with CNN, Gomperz explained that in foothill communities like Altadena, the water system relies, in part, on gravity.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That means water needs to be pumped into tanks at higher elevations so that it can flow downhill when needed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Once those tanks were drained by firefighters and homeowners with garden hoses battling the recent blaze, officials were unable to pump water to refill them because Southern California Edison cut power in the area to protect firefighters from falling power lines.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Without power, Gomperz said, there was no way to pump water to where it was needed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's a Catch-22," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h2><span>'Screaming to be properly funded"</span></h2></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While the Los Angeles area is no stranger to large wildfires, fire officials have been sounding the alarm over their ability to meet a dramatically increasing risk of disaster fueled in large part by climate change.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But major improvements require political will and extensive financial resources — which Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley has repeatedly said she doesn't have.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Just last month, Crowley wrote in a memo to Bass that the elimination of "critical" civilian support positions and $11.3 million in cuts to overtime hours had "severely limited the Department's capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Crowley said that the budget cuts had affected the department's training and fire prevention efforts, specifically noting that current funding limited the department's ability to complete required brush clearance inspections, which she described as "crucial for mitigating fire risks in high-hazard areas."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Last year, Bass approved over $27.6 million in cuts to the annual fire budget, a decision that has drawn much criticism as the calls for help amid the fires have far outnumbered the firefighters available to respond.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Bass addressed the controversy surrounding these cuts in a press conference Thursday, arguing that the kinds of budget cuts made would not have had any impact on the current situation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's important to understand that we were in tough budgetary times," she said Thursday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/la-fires-update-los-angeles-wildfires-death-toll-damage-evacuation-orders-latest-news/9cd2c7bb-3f43-41dd-ac6f-165c9c676a83"><strong><span>Planespotting footage appears to capture start of devastating fire</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Everybody knew that, but the impact of our budget really did not affect what we've been going through over the last few days."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Bass also said additional funding had been allocated "to be distributed later on."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That additional funding amounted to a $86.2 million increase for the fire budget from the previous year, a spokesperson for City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield told CNN.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Still, in an interview with local news station Fox11 on Friday, Crowley said the city had failed her department and that she believes they would have been in a "better position" to prevent some of the widespread damage had her requests for additional resources been granted.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We are screaming to be properly funded," she told the reporter.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Crowley had also expressed concern in a January 2023 memo.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"From the effects of climate change, seasonal Santa Ana wind conditions, to the impact of increased construction in the high severity fire areas, the Los Angeles City Fire Department (LAFD) is facing a year round fire season," she wrote, noting that expanded staffing would be needed to meet this "new normal," which has been further worsened as the number of prison inmates who have traditionally worked alongside firefighters as part of the state's conservation camp program have dwindled due to state prison reforms.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Officials in Los Angeles County had also pointed last year to a "critical shortage" of these additional inmate boots on the ground, saying the problem had been "exacerbated by the increasing frequency and severity of wildland fires due to climate change."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Federal Emergency Management Agency rated Los Angeles County as "the most susceptible county in the United States to natural disasters," according to a recent county progress report on an initiative launched in 2023 to create "climate ready communities and infrastructure" given these increased risks.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Yet as fires continued to rage this week, LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone acknowledged at a press conference that there were not enough firefighters to take on the multiple enormous and quickly spreading blazes located across wide swaths of the city and county.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We don't have enough fire personnel in LA County, between all of the departments, to handle this," Marrone said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h2><span>'All bets are off'</span></h2></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Residents should also play a role in mitigating fire damage, experts say.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Coincidentally, the Pacific Palisades community council had just entered into a roughly six-month process that qualifies homeowner associations for grants that enable them to, among other things, enhance warning systems, improve evacuation route signage and help homeowners clear brush around their houses.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The fire came too soon," said David Barrett, who heads up MySafe:LA, the grant-supported public safety nonprofit that runs the program.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Barrett's organisation tries to get communities to take the steps necessary for becoming "fire safe councils," a designation which, in addition to enabling neighborhoods to obtain grants, also makes homeowners eligible for possible discounts on home insurance, he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Although the fire has destroyed the community, that doesn't mean that this isn't a great time to become a fire safe council to aid them in securing additional financing to be able to rebuild the Palisades," Barrett said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/los-angeles-fires-2025-hollywood-award-tv-shows-cancelled/ff12aff0-aa3a-47e2-8c9e-1891f2b49b5d" rel="" target="" title="Glitzy Hollywood awards called off as wildfires ravage LA"><strong><span>Glitzy Hollywood awards called off as wildfires ravage LA</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"If you look at the aerial infrared photography of the Palisades, there's a lot of vegetation that did not burn."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But while Barrett swears by the efficacy of his program, he acknowledges that none of the standard precautions would have been enough to thwart the main culprit that destroyed the Palisades in this week's historic inferno: wind.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It wasn't because there wasn't enough water," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It wasn't because of political things that you might have read about. It wasn't because of anything else but the wind."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Jon Keeley, a senior research scientist for the US Geological Survey, echoed this sentiment, saying the rare combination of circumstances behind the Los Angeles wildfires made the widespread destruction unpreventable.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"When you have winds, the velocity of these winds, all bets are off in terms of what you can do to save homes," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Even so, Sue Kohl, president of the Pacific Palisades Community Council, said more could have been done to prepare.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I think people in general just need to be more organised, more prepared in advance than we all have been," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"And I think that's going to be, going forward, something we're going to emphasise."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Kohl said the council – under Barrett's direction – was gearing up to put on a fire safety fair next month.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"But now there's probably no place to have it," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>From the comfort of a friend's home, she is struggling to grasp the enormity of the loss, which included her home.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Our schools, our church, restaurants, stores, everything – the supermarkets, everything's gone," Kohl said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h2><span>A national model, but only for newer homes</span></h2></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>When it comes to protecting homes against wildfire threats, California's building codes are a national model.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But only a tiny fraction of homes in the areas threatened by this week's fires were built after those standards were enacted, according to a CNN analysis of state data.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The state first mandated fire-related building requirements in the wake of a devastating 1991 fire in Oakland, which killed 25 people.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Those mandates were significantly beefed up in 2008, when the state approved a new building code that applies in designated fire-prone areas, which include most of Pacific Palisades and some but not all of Altadena.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The codes require ignition-resistant roofs, fire-resistant siding, and exterior windows and doors that can resist fire for at least 20 minutes, among other features.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>California has "some of the strongest wildfire building codes in North America," said Judson Boomhower, a University of California San Diego professor who's studied the requirements.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/sequoia-national-park-fire-usa-four-famous-giant-trees-unharmed/3715d12e-88b1-4e56-9860-dd02da9a88ae" rel="" target="" title="Four famous giant trees unharmed by California wildfire"><strong><span>Four famous giant trees unharmed by California wildfire</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="styles__Wrapper-sc-2o34ro-0 cmwkBV"><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><a href="/content/2025/01/08/11/43/los-angeles-fires-in-pictures-wildfires-race-across-southern-california"><img alt="Eaton Fire in Altadena, Calif." sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 636px, (min-width: 768px) 396px, 100vw" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/-fUwIKpGw6zwlQbIzhUrJiCp118=/115x690:5884x3935/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F0f418f1d-496e-45b9-8f74-e81fbed12345" srcset="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/-fUwIKpGw6zwlQbIzhUrJiCp118=/115x690:5884x3935/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F0f418f1d-496e-45b9-8f74-e81fbed12345 396w, https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/SNOEqg_ABPCUxNceClWWQUph5rw=/115x690:5884x3935/636x358/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F0f418f1d-496e-45b9-8f74-e81fbed12345 636w"/></a></div><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><div class="styles__Headline-sc-2o34ro-4 hpbOlz">Residents start returning to homes reduced to rubble in LA wildfires</div><div class="styles__Button-sc-2o34ro-1 eBjlmW"><a class="styles__ButtonLink-sc-2o34ro-2 hqpklJ" href="/content/2025/01/08/11/43/los-angeles-fires-in-pictures-wildfires-race-across-southern-california">View Gallery</a></div></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's quite clear when you look at the post-incident data that those codes really have had quite an effect."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In parts of California subject to the fire-related building codes, a home built in 2008 or later was about 40 per cent less likely to be destroyed than a home built in 1990 that had identical exposure to wildfire, according to a 2021 study Boomhower co-authored.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the rules only apply to new structures built after the updated code was approved, and don't require property owners to retrofit older buildings unless they're in the midst of a major renovation of their home.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The vast majority of the homes threatened by the LA-area fires this week were built before the codes went into effect.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>According to Cal Fire incident reports, only about five per cent of the structures in the area surrounding the Palisades Fire were built in 2010 or later and 16 per cent were built in 1990 or later.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span> Less than three per cent of the structures in the area around the Eaton Fire were built in 2010 or later and about nine per cent were built in 1990 or later.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"One of the big challenges about wildfire resilience and vulnerability is we have this enormous stock of really old houses," Boomhower said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"That means we have this legacy of decisions made decades ago about where to build and how safely to build, and that has a big effect on our experience of wildfires today."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Fire-related building standards are especially important because, unlike a flood or hurricane, how quickly a wildfire reaches a home depends on whether it first consumes neighboring houses.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That means that even older homes built before the modern building codes were passed are better protected if they're in a neighborhood with more newer homes.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Local authorities have previously acknowledged the risk of fire to aging homes.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A Los Angeles County report issued in 2021 noted how a high percentage of homes in areas vulnerable to wildfire damage were built before the adoption of building codes with higher safety standards.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h2><span>Is rebuilding worth the risk?</span></h2></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Even as the flames are still burning across the Los Angeles area, residents and local leaders in the region are starting to think about how to rebuild their devastated neighborhoods.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While damage wrought by the inferno may have been unavoidable, the reconstruction process should be shaped by efforts to minimise the risk of future fires, experts say.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Regions vulnerable to wildfires can take steps to better prepare, such as changing neighborhood designs and enacting policies that require residents to clear brush and debris, said Daniel Aldrich, a Northeastern University professor who focuses on disaster resiliency and recovery.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Those are things we can control right now," Aldrich said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Some of the most effective interventions, however, would be costly or disruptive.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The state or local governments could do more to incentivise property owners to retrofit older buildings. California started a pilot program to do that a few years ago.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Still, it would be highly expensive to retrofit all older buildings in fire-prone areas, even though that would make them significantly safer, Boomhower said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>READ MORE: Greenland's leader says his people don't want to be Americans as Trump covets territory</span></div></div><div class="styles__Wrapper-sc-2o34ro-0 cmwkBV"><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><a href="/content/2025/01/10/11/40/los-angeles-wildfires-altadena-palisades-california-fires-before-and-after-satellite-images"><img alt="Streets in Altadena have been completely wiped out." sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 636px, (min-width: 768px) 396px, 100vw" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/yB-WKHrY6BxDDGYLsgsAjYbGNFw=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F869227b4-9825-4cab-a1da-eb8f8cab2556" srcset="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/yB-WKHrY6BxDDGYLsgsAjYbGNFw=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F869227b4-9825-4cab-a1da-eb8f8cab2556 396w, https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/Wqnnnk9igkSI1LMph1F686sshrw=/636x358/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F869227b4-9825-4cab-a1da-eb8f8cab2556 636w"/></a></div><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><div class="styles__Headline-sc-2o34ro-4 hpbOlz">Before-and-after satellite images show devastating impact of LA wildfires</div><div class="styles__Button-sc-2o34ro-1 eBjlmW"><a class="styles__ButtonLink-sc-2o34ro-2 hqpklJ" href="/content/2025/01/10/11/40/los-angeles-wildfires-altadena-palisades-california-fires-before-and-after-satellite-images">View Gallery</a></div></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It's not yet known what sparked this week's blazes, but several of California's previous biggest fires have been started by falling power lines that ignite surrounding trees or brush. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Some utility companies in the state are already moving to bury power lines in fire-prone areas, although the process can cost millions of dollars per kilometre.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Hindsight is 20/20," said Gomperz, the water board member.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The one thing they could have done 100 years ago is bury the power lines under the street. They can still do that, but it is very expensive and would disrupt a lot of communities."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Water lines could also be upgraded to handle increased demand in the event of a drastic fire and better guarantee pressure to fire hydrants.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There are absolutely actions we can take," said Erik Porse, director of the California Institute for Water Resources at the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We can make investments in larger distribution lines to maintain pressure or help to refill those [storage] tanks faster."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Still, some experts question whether the most fire-risky neighborhoods – those on the border between cities and wildland – should be rebuilt at all.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Researchers have suggested policies to incentivise some survivors of fires to move to less dangerous areas, in a strategy known as "managed retreat."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We have to think about more and more places not rebuilding," said UCLA's Pierce, who acknowledged the difficulty of suggesting some people should move on from their longstanding homes.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But given the risks, he said, "that's, I think, where things are headed."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><strong><span>Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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