Wildfire prep not focused in the right direction

The “policy” reactions to our legitimate fear of fire have been less thoughtful than we should expect.

The most important focus for preventing catastrophic fires is the point of ignition. Instead, the focus has been on what will burn, and not on what causes a fire.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s equipment has been the source of ignition for most of the recent fires. They have the responsibility to replace wires and the rest of the equipment in any high-fire area if it is unsafe. If you look at the photographs of Coffey Park in Santa Rosa — a neighborhood that was not in the wildland-urban interface — it is easy to notice that, while much of the landscaping was burned, it was the houses that were reduced to ash. Cutting down the trees, or dramatically pruning them, is not the best or only answer, especially since the workers are moving fast, with less concern for the health and shape of the trees. It’s the worst “expedient response.”

Our communities are being punished for PG&E’s decades of neglect, through higher insurance costs (if you can get insurance), loss of habitat, loss of treescape and a heightened sense of fear. There’s no question that we should all be concerned for our and our neighbor’s safety. We should show the responsibility to keep our own property in as much a fire-safe condition as possible and support efforts to provide safe and speedy egress in the case of any disaster.

That said, if a conflagration comes, as we have seen in other communities, trimming or removing trees will not stop the wall of flames. Having support from Measure C, PG&E and our insurance companies to harden our homes — the buildings themselves — would be a better use of funds than the current approach we’re seeing everywhere. The old adage, “To someone with a hammer, everything looks like a nail” seems to fit.

— Leslie Alden, Corte Madera