How a quiet California town protects itself against today’s megafires

In the early hours of December 16, 2017, hot embers began raining down on the Southern California town of Montecito. 

Ominous, orange flames soon appeared on hills above the wooded community as the infamous Thomas Fire, burning for nearly two weeks at that point, lunged over the ridge and pushed into the enclave below. 

The odds weighed in the fire’s favor: The winds picked up overnight, blowing 65 mph gusts in the direction of hundreds and hundreds of homes. 

But when the smoke and ash finally settled, the fire had lost — for the most part, anyhow.

“They thought for sure that they were going to lose 400 or 500 homes — instead they only lost seven,”  Crystal Kolden, a fire scientist at the University of Idaho and former wildland firefighter, said in an interview.  Read more…

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