We “fight” wildfires. We don’t “fight” earthquakes. We plan for and mitigate the expected effects.
A new article published in Nature, titled Learning to coexist with wildfire, looks at different kinds of vegetation fires, what drives them in various ecosystems, the ways public response to fire can differ, and the critical interface zones between built communities and natural landscapes.
Here is one quote from the paper:
To reduce flood damage, we make floodplain maps. To reduce earthquake damage, we form earthquake commissions. When it comes to fire, we hand everything over to the firefighters.
And, an excerpt from a description of the paper:
…[It] examines research findings from three continents and from both the natural and social sciences. The authors conclude that government-sponsored firefighting and land-use policies actually encourage development on inherently hazardous landscapes, amplifying human losses over time.
“We don’t try to ‘fight’ earthquakes — we anticipate them in the way we plan communities, build buildings and prepare for emergencies. We don’t think that way about fire, but our review indicates that we should,” said lead author Max Moritz, Cooperative Extension specialist in fire at UC Berkeley’s College of Natural Resources. “Human losses will only be mitigated when land-use planning takes fire hazards into account in the same manner as other natural hazards, like floods, hurricanes and earthquakes.”…
Smokey the Bear was a very effective marketing tool, so it may take a generation to get this message across, but it’s an important message. Imagine if ski home owners demanded a right to build flimsy homes in avalanche paths, and wanted taxpayers to foot the bill for “avalanche-fighting” on a wholesale basis, as opposed to the current system of keeping needed roads open and otherwise generally letting building codes and similar standards address the issue, and letting the snowpack take care of itself? Relative to earthquakes and hurricanes, fire is also an easier nut to crack, if people care to.