Common sense up in flames

Re “Ignoring nature, we build our way into fire’s path,” Critic’s Notebook, Oct. 30

I could not agree more that developers ignore common sense and build in canyons and on mountainsides where fire is sure to come. One aspect of the fires not covered well is the terrible toll on wildlife. Possums, skunks, deer, snakes, raccoons, birds and mountain lions perish when these wildfires rage on. All I read about is the terrible toll on property -- property that by some accounts should never have been built.

Gerald Orcholski

Pasadena

Bravo to Christopher Hawthorne for calling out modern wildfire disasters as mostly the creations of home builders, aside from the psychotics who start the fires. Further, money was only alluded to -- the other “fuel” that drives the emphasis on high-end housing projects, the campaign contributions that permit those housing projects in wild lands to be approved, the agreements that indemnify the developers once they’ve built, and the insurance benefits that push rebuilding on the burned, established lot.

If you “buy in” to these scams, then the profiteers keep profiting.

Glenn Robertson

Whittier

Re “Acts of God, and man,” Opinion, Oct. 29

Gregory Rodriguez hits the target again. God has given us our intellect, conscience and will with which to understand situations and make decisions. We cannot cop out by asking God to make decisions for us.

On a more mundane level, Rodriguez points out the insanity of allowing houses to be built in brush-covered hills -- not just because of fire hazards but because of the day-to-day costs of delivering water, electricity and gas. Ironically, local governments are often sued for not granting building licenses and then for damage caused by landslides and fire. Wealthy developers seem to have no problems getting licenses to build houses in these areas. What would brush clearance cost compared to firefighting and lost homes? Where is the courage to require homeowners to have fire-resistant roofs?

Richard J. Riordan

Former Los Angeles mayor