Australia and California
Regardless of one's beliefs about climate change and the long-term changes needed or not needed to deal with it, the raging fires in both the American west and Australia certainly show that as rebuilding begins, changes need to be made to deal with the immediate situation.
When I lived in Western Canada, many of the older farms and ranches not only had windbreaks, but also firebreaks kept plowed up surrounding them. This at least gave them a chance to survive prairie fires, though water was scarce.
When rebuilding and replanting these present burned over areas, cleared and plowed firebreaks should be established (and maintained) in places that can be held by fire crews and used to keep the fires from getting so big they get beyond control. These shouldn't be accessible to the public who would likely misuse them for vehicles and might start fires, but should be accessible to fire crews. They should divide the country up into rough grids in which a fire can be contained.
The power grid should be cleared of trees as far as possible and kept well maintained.
New housing should be restricted in where it can be built and how. Fire resistant materials should be required to get insurance. Possibly deep bunkers could be built also for existing buildings in remote areas where residents can escape the flames. Small communities should all have plowed firebreaks surrounding them, and likely a deeply buried shelter that can survive a number of hours of fire and hold all the residents.
Nothing is 100%, but breaking the landscape up with firebreaks and providing places of escape, while minimizing potential ignition sources, would help a lot.
When I lived in Western Canada, many of the older farms and ranches not only had windbreaks, but also firebreaks kept plowed up surrounding them. This at least gave them a chance to survive prairie fires, though water was scarce.
When rebuilding and replanting these present burned over areas, cleared and plowed firebreaks should be established (and maintained) in places that can be held by fire crews and used to keep the fires from getting so big they get beyond control. These shouldn't be accessible to the public who would likely misuse them for vehicles and might start fires, but should be accessible to fire crews. They should divide the country up into rough grids in which a fire can be contained.
The power grid should be cleared of trees as far as possible and kept well maintained.
New housing should be restricted in where it can be built and how. Fire resistant materials should be required to get insurance. Possibly deep bunkers could be built also for existing buildings in remote areas where residents can escape the flames. Small communities should all have plowed firebreaks surrounding them, and likely a deeply buried shelter that can survive a number of hours of fire and hold all the residents.
Nothing is 100%, but breaking the landscape up with firebreaks and providing places of escape, while minimizing potential ignition sources, would help a lot.
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