Jeanette ... i think most people in the USA dont understand the situation in California. The western half of CA is absolutely covered with dry brush and chaparral. It is everywhere. It has accumulated through many seasons of growth, then it turned dry through nany years if drought. It is impossible for us to remove all of the old dry grass and weeds. The volume of work required to do this is enormous ... it is beyond the capability of everyone. So that is the problem.

When I read these stories, like the tragedy of the Paradise fire, I dont say to myself ... those people made bad choices. I say to myself ... the same thing could happen here where I live .. exactly the same situation. And many, many other people in CA are saying the same thing. I live in a valley that has one access road ... only one way in and out. The whole valley is covered in dry grass and chaparral. The mountains have a lot of dead trees. It is a natural fire trap.
If a sudden fire happened, many people could be trapped in this valley. People always figure ... well we have time to escape. But in a fast-moving fire ... you dont always have time to escape. The local authorities are well aware that there is a high fire risk, but they just do not have the money to clear all of the dead grass.

The same situation exists in many local towns and regions across CA. it is a big, big problem.