After the Fire, Should Some Parts of Los Angeles Never Rebuild?
The idea of “managed retreat” has been applied to areas affected by rising sea levels and severe flooding, but fire-prone regions might not be the best candidates for abandonment.
An "unsafe" sign outside a home destroyed by the Eaton Fire in Pasadena, California
Photographer: Jill Connelly/BloombergThe fires in and around Los Angeles are coming under control. The city’s mayor has already issued an executive order to speed up rebuilding. But equally catastrophic blazes are likely to strike again on a hotter planet, raising the question of whether some parts of the region should still be considered livable.
It’s not an unthinkable notion. There have been a handful of attempts at systematically moving populations away from regions severely affected by climate change. This kind of “managed retreat” has typically been applied to risks from rising sea levels, with recent programs in the US involving relocating tribal populations in Alaska and Washington.