DON’T REBUILD IN DISASTER ZONES:
The Los Angeles wildfires were ‘the perfect storm’. Is the city ready for the next one? (Gabrielle Canon, 7 Jan 2026, The Guardian)
The dangers are not confined to Los Angeles. There are more than 1,100 communities in 32 states across the US with characteristics similar to those that burned in the LA fires, data from the US Forest Service shows – and they are not only in the west. Researchers estimate roughly 115 million people – more than a third of the US population – live in areas that could host the next fire disaster.
The extreme conditions that aligned here were rare; but the dangers are only increasing. Los Angeles will have to prepare itself, even as the metropolis undergoes the arduous challenge of climbing out from under this catastrophe.
At a minimum, insurance policies ought not grant policies.