Last weekend, my wife, Jenny, and I drove three miles from our home to see firsthand the widespread devastation caused by the Eaton Fire in Altadena.
Executive Summary
In this second article in a two-part series, Journalist Russ Banham endeavors to better understand the factors behind the devastating fires in Los Angeles County and the roles that public officials, fire suppression personnel, insurance regulators, insurance carriers and homeowners can play to forge a safer future.Read Part 1 here: An Insurance Journalist's Perspective on Southern California's Wildfires
I had been determined not to visit the scene of such grief and despair out of respect for others’ privacy. But after writing about our four-day mandatory evacuation and plans to invest in fortifying our house against the next wildfire, a fact-finding mission was in order. I needed to ascertain why some houses survived the annihilation.
It was a splendid day with mostly blue skies as Jenny drove her car slowly through the charred remains of the neighborhood. Most of the hazardous debris had been removed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. What remained took on a solemn quality.
