Why did the American emergency fail to control the Los Angeles fires?

The Washington Post newspaper delivered The American newspaper shed light on the failure of the American firefighting system in dealing with the fires in the city of Los Angeles in the state of California.

The newspaper indicated in its report that the ecosystem in the city of Los Angeles is characterized by dense forests, and forest fires in the mountains are considered a common occurrence. Every year, but when these fires moved into residential neighborhoods later this week — killing at least 11 people and destroying thousands of homes — the city suddenly found itself facing a catastrophic situation.

Biggest Power Firefighting in the country The newspaper explained that the crucial question became: Why was the largest city in California, a state that has spent years strengthening itself against wildfires, unable to stop the fires this time, as government regulations required residents in high-risk neighborhoods to create clearing zones? Of plants around their homes, the state has also invested billions of dollars to reduce the amount of wood fuel that fires can consume, and it also has the largest fire force in the country. However, within a few days, ancient communities and beloved landmarks were gone, and residents were left wondering… The reason.

Several key factors – including urbanization, resistance to clearing vegetation around homes, and a water system that is not designed to handle several major fires at the same time – have made Los Angeles vulnerable to disasters, experts said. Climate change, which is causing record temperatures, makes hills primed to become breeding sites for major fires. These factors contributed to the disaster.

Planning flaws said Timothy Ingalsby, executive director of Fire Fighters United. For Safety, Ethics and Ecology" In Oregon: “There was a lot that could and should be done, and decades before we knew about climate change, we knew that this kind of urbanization was very risky.”

There have long been planning flaws that were exacerbated by Wildfires are an ongoing problem in Southern California, and the communities devastated by the fires, such as Alta Dena and the Pacific Palisades, were built decades ago into mountainsides that frequently burn, and these areas are filled with homes. Individually located on narrow and winding streets; Which makes it difficult to defend and evacuate.

The newspaper said that what was considered a dangerous move at the time, has now become even more dangerous, as drought, high temperatures, and the suppression of fires for decades have led to the emergence of larger fires, according to experts.< /p>

Studies examining the effects of climate change have shown that the severity of fires in California increased by 30% between the 1980s and the first decade of the twenty-first century, while the likelihood of fires consuming homes located on or near wild lands in Los Angeles County increases. Angeles, the severity of the weather Extremism is on the rise.

The newspaper indicated that by yesterday morning, more than 70% of the areas affected by fires in Los Angeles County were located in areas identified by the state as having very high fire risks, according to an analysis conducted by " ;Washington Post" Using data from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the National Joint Fire Center, the Pacific Palisades fire spread… Through an area that was almost entirely under a high-risk classification.

Fire Management Challenges For his part, Zeke Linder, a fire mapping expert in Chico, California, and director of The Lookout website, said: Fire Information Specialist: “The location and design of the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, which is located between Topanga Park and… “The homes are ideally located in the direction of the prevailing ‘Santa Ana’ winds,” Linder added. (Warm winds that blow from the interior to the coast in Southern California). "After the city was built, it became impossible to think about these matters."

Citizens’ Failure to Follow the Law Before fires threaten homes, experts say it is one of the few steps homeowners can take to make their properties more… Fireproofing is the removal of grasses and shrubs, thus reducing what fuels the fires. In California, people living in at-risk areas are required to maintain a buffer zone around their homes – a five-foot vegetation-free zone known as a “bullhole.” Defensive."

But in reality, the laws were not adhered to equally, as many homeowners were reluctant to remove wooden fences, replant their gardens, or prune the lower limbs of pine trees, as aerial photographs of the "defensive" neighborhood showed. Bacvik Palisades" Captured before the fire broke out, the homes were surrounded by green spaces, a common sight in upscale areas, where residents place a premium on privacy.

Water shortages The newspaper also noted that the Los Angeles state water system was not designed to combat Fires, and when several fires broke out, the system was unable to meet the demand for extinguishing fires.

While firefighters were racing to put out the flames, the water tanks that stored water for some parts of the city and the pumping systems that transported it could not keep up. Huge demand To extinguish fires.

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