[jyl]

1991 (?) Oakland Hills fire aka Tunnel Fire, a nightmare scenario, burning tightly packed houses surrounded by dense landscaping and trees with roads too tight for fire engines. 3,300 homes destroyed, 25 killed. Today hardly anyone under 50 even knows about it, and it’s all lovely houses and mature vegetation ready to burn again.

Fire is part of California and the West, it is getting worse and more dangerous, and the people, construction techniques, firefighting, insurance market, will adapt.