Fires

[helene_t]

Why are there natural fires every year in that region?

Maybe it has something to do with forest management. I can imagine commercial, monoculture forests being more prone to large-scale fires than more diverse, natural forests.

Also, in Australia the aboriginals used to induce minor fires as a hunting tool, which kept the forests open and therefore less prone to large-scale fires. Dono about California.

 

Finally, in a natural ecosystem, prevalence of fires will favor fire-resistance. Presumably, those trees that are likely to survive a fire are also less likely to spread the fire. OTOH, there are trees whose seeds survive the fire and in fact require fire to mature (and ashes make the ground fertile).

[mycroft]

Okay, here's the choice for millions of people - find a place to live in your home town, or be homeless where it's safe.

 

Ottawa - I bet that water damage insurance without a massive deductible is pretty much unattainable for any of the older properties - say anything built before 1950. Especially if there's been a burst pipe already from the cold.

 

There are "extraordinary dangers" anywhere. There are also insane people who should know better - including building clifftop houses in Greater Vancouver in a known erosion zone, and then wondering where the backyard went.

 

But there are many millions of people born in the U.S. who literally can't help where they live, and they know that eventually it's going to get hit by a tornado/slide into the Pacific/hurricane flood/be broken into/...

 

And what do you say to the West Indians, who are 100% certain, no matter where they could possibly move to without immigration, which is largely out of their control, to be hit by a Cat. 3+ hurricane in their lives? Sorry, you shouldn't have been born in your country?

 

Feh. I know I am lucky to have been born in and live in an area that is shielded from most catastrophic weather. I know that others aren't.

Michael.