Comment by throw0101a | Hacker News Reader

Comment by throw0101a | Hacker News Reader

Protecting homes against wildfires is a solved problem to a large extent:

* https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Fire-causes-and-risks/...

* https://www.readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/get-re...

* https://www.firerescue1.com/fire-products/wildland-fire-prod...

Most homes go up in flames not from the flames that we often seen in footage (which can generate quite a lot of radiant heat), but rather start from embers that fall onto flammable bits (decks, wood furniture, dry vegetation, large-hole attic vents):

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW4ojYJtGbA

* https://www.frontlinewildfire.com/wildfire-news-and-resource...

* https://firesmartbc.ca/why-we-focus-on-embers/

* https://firesafemarin.org/harden-your-home/how-homes-ignite/

That's my understanding also: protect the house from being ignited, rather than "protect the plot from fire".

But Americans seem to care more about their land than their house, so maybe they confuse these concepts on purpose.

Not irrational if you consider that frequently the land is worth a lot more than the house.

Maybe those aging homeowners in San Jose, CA with Prop 13 or recent transplants with lots of cash who buy them out, but is that the majority of homeowners in America? I think not.

I don't know, but it sure is interesting to speculate! Maybe there's some way of finding out actual numbers?

That seems too rational for most people though.

A home is an emotional thing, not just a thing that is worth money.

Most probably care more about their families and irreplaceable heirlooms than their houses. Houses can be rebuilt. Insurance exists now (but maybe not for much longer).

Most (but not all) Americans are intensely ignorant, and some are proud of it for tribal reasons. I know because I visited Paradise in 2018 and lived there 2019-2020. Not a single person I met amongst thousands took even partial personal responsibility for losing their structure: it was all somebody else's fault or an act of divine intervention.

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