A Self-Perpetuating Cycle of Wildfires

<p>When many in California talk about this year’s wildfires, they describe the color — the apocalyptic, ominous, red-orange glow in the sky.</p><p>The state’s current wildfires have seen two and a half million acres already burned.</p><p>Climate change has made conditions ripe for fires: Temperatures are higher and the landscape drier. But the destruction has also become more acute because of the number of homes that are built on the wildland-urban interface — where development meets wild vegetation.</p><p>The pressures of California’s population have meant that towns are encouraged to build in high-risk areas. And when a development is ravaged by a fire, it is often rebuilt, starting the cycle of destruction over again.</p><p>Today, we explore the practice of building houses in fire zones and the role insurance companies could play in disrupting this cycle. </p><p>Guest: Christopher Flavelle, who covers the impact of global warming on people, governments and industries for The New York Times. </p><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank">nytimes.com/thedaily</a></p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>“People are always asking, ‘Is this the new normal?’” a climate scientist said. “I always say no. It’s going to get worse.” If climate change was an abstract notion a decade ago, today<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/10/us/climate-change-california-wildfires.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage" target="_blank"> it is all too real for Californians</a>.</li><li>Research suggests that most Americans<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/04/climate/flood-fire-building-restrictions.html" target="_blank"> support restrictions</a> on building homes in fire- or flood-prone areas. </li></ul><p><br /></p>