[californiadisasters] More people moving to fire areas

More people in places with high fire risk, state responsibility By JIM MILLER and BEN GOAD Staff Writers The number of people living in Inland Southern California 's most fire-prone places increased by more 50 percent during the past decade, last week's census figures show, with tens of thousands of additional residents in places where the state pays for fire protection and other services. Massive wildfires ripped through the region in 2003 and 2007, destroying hundreds of homes. More people living in at-risk places also can increase the risk of accidental fires; an estimated 94 percent of wildland fires have human causes. In addition, the population growth has budget implications for cash-strapped state and local governments. "Clearly there are a lot more people in proximity to fire risk," said William Stewart, a University of California forestry specialist and a former top Cal Fire official. "The actual risk depends on how they build their houses. "Those are serious issues out there," Stewart added. "The scale of the growth...is much larger than what has happened in the Sierra Nevada."   CUT   full story: http://www.pe.com/politics/miller/stories/PE_News_Local_D_wildland17.1ff0899.html

__._,_.___

Be sure to check out our Links Section at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/californiadisasters/links
Please join our Discussion Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/californiadisasters_discussion/ for topical but extended discussions started here or for less topical but nonetheless relevant messages.

Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___