As the governor and president try to figure out how to reduce future wildfires, some experts believe the better strategy would be figuring how to safely live with them.
One idea is to think critically about where we put future housing.
More housing is needed, but there's not a lot of available space. Michael Gollner, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkeley, suggested to not just build with more fire-resistant materials but building in areas with mass evacuation in mind.
"California is incredibly exposed across the state and so we really have to think where are there possible places to build," Gollner told KCBS Radio. "So, we have to start thinking about designing these low risk communities. We do this in other natural disasters."
He said if it's necessary to build housing in areas with fire fuels, use fire resistant materials so homes don't go up like matchsticks and people have time to get out.
"If we can prevent these fires from being so huge and having them more manageable and at the same time building communities that are safer and aren't going to burn so we can safely evacuate, that is going totally change the risk equation," he said.
Gollner added this is a huge investment that will take a multi-facet approach not just from the government but from people chipping in to programs and taking some of that responsibility.
