A House Afire

The indispensible Why Files looks at the California fires and finds lots of factors at work, including drought, a warming climate, and the siting of houses in the so-called wildland-urban interface, or WUI. Not to put too fine a point on it, but housing in fire zones, sooner or later, equals house fires.

In California, more than 5 million people live in the WUI, according to forest ecologist, Volker Radeloff. Not that many, percentage-wise: only about 13 percent of the population. By comparison, 38 percent of houses nationwide are in the WUI. Granted, much of that land isn't susceptible to wildfire, but that could change, especially in places like the Southeast, which is now locked in drought.