Ironically, the cycle particularly in southern California is rain leads to fires leads to landslides. Heavy-rain winters (as SoCal has experienced for the past

Ironically, the cycle particularly in southern California is rain leads to fires leads to landslides. Heavy-rain winters (as SoCal has experienced for the past two years) lead to robust plant growth. Followed by a drought, that dries out, contributing to fuel load (as SoCal has experienced this past season). Intense fires remove not only the surface growth but burn out roots and sterlise soil, which makes it vulnerable to washouts in the next heavy rains (probable in the next few seasons), which causes its own major damage. We're presently at stage two of that three-stage cycle. As for prevention: virtually nothing. The landscape will burn. The question is what human structures on or near that landscape will do. The intensity of wind + burning brand streams makes even fairly robust defensive measures of limited efficacy. This image of palm trees burning next to a McDonalds gives some sense: <https://imgur.com/gallery/this-is-surreal-9nimUMS https://imgur.com/gallery/this-is-surreal-9nimUMS> To armour a house against that sort of onslaught, not only do all surfaces have to be fire-resistant (tile, stucco, glass, brick, etc.), but there can be no penetrations, and structures, inconveniently, require ventilation. I'm not saying it's impossible (see the Getty Villa as an example of a structure which has survived, so far), but it is quite challenging. I suspect we will see broader adoption of such requirements, eventually. Given the damage in, e.g., Altadena, and recent years' damage in Santa Rosa and Ventura, the idea that greater Los Angeles and environs are immune to an utterly devastating urban firestorm strike me as highly optimistic. That need not prove a false belief in this incident, but I could see it occurring in the next few decades, quite possibly sooner.