In Reply to: They should have cleared the brush posted by russsmith on January 14, 2025 at 13:43:21
Firebreaks are great for stopping localized fires in low-wind situations. However, 100 mph winds can carry embers in the air for miles, so a fire break won't help. And as for clearing chaparral, there are negative unintended consequences. Once the chaparral is cleared the first things likely to grow back are non-native grasses. These grasses grow green in the winter but then become a dry tinderbox the rest of the year, often creating a worse fire hazard than the chaparral they replaced.
But most of the critics are easterners. They don't have a clue how wildfires behave in Southern California. They are the Dunning-Kruger effect personified.