I broadly agree with your point here about controlled burning, but I have two comments that I think add worthwhile context to the issue.
First, PG&E has an extremely poor track record when it comes to maintenance on transmission lines. Even with more controlled burning, it’s not a good idea to be shooting off sparks in the middle of the dry season. So an optimal balance probably involves both PG&E spending more money on its infrastructure and doing more controlled burning.
Second, a lot of the deaths and injuries related to fires are the result of California’s housing crisis pushing more people into urban-wilderness boundary areas. As development pushes out into more areas of chaparral (which as the Pew article you linked noted, consists of fast-growing shrubs that like to burn and can’t really be cleared out over the long-run by controlled burning), you’re pretty much guaranteed to have more damage from fire. Removing barriers to housing construction in existing urban areas is a key piece of the puzzle in protecting people from fire.
I broadly agree with your point here about controlled burning, but I have two comments that I think add worthwhile context to the issue.
First, PG&E has an extremely poor track record when it comes to maintenance on transmission lines. Even with more controlled burning, it’s not a good idea to be shooting off sparks in the middle of the dry season. So an optimal balance probably involves both PG&E spending more money on its infrastructure and doing more controlled burning.
Second, a lot of the deaths and injuries related to fires are the result of California’s housing crisis pushing more people into urban-wilderness boundary areas. As development pushes out into more areas of chaparral (which as the Pew article you linked noted, consists of fast-growing shrubs that like to burn and can’t really be cleared out over the long-run by controlled burning), you’re pretty much guaranteed to have more damage from fire. Removing barriers to housing construction in existing urban areas is a key piece of the puzzle in protecting people from fire.