Les - a very legitimate question.

First, I am an example of a person who lives in a rural CA community and I don't have a landline. I suspect that many others nearby are similar. Why pay the extra cost? I think now that people will have to re-consider this ... in light of what happened. I will need to re-consider also.

I will be discussing - with the others in my community - how do we get a better and more reliable system of communication operating? If phones don't work ... the only alternative is for "emergency contacters" to literally drive door-to-door. That might be what we have to do. it's the kind of thing that needs discussion and organization.

This fire tragedy has really hit on a weakness of our society - we have become very dependent on cell phone technology and autos, and our social relationships have become very fractured. Part of the reason why people don't know their own neighbors - is because we all have Internet social contacts ... but those people are far away. We have "gone global, and lost local".

Communities need to think about these things.