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“…The dilemma is, as a firefighter said after the Woolsey Fire in 2018, ‘the notion that we control nature is flawed.’ We’ve done all of this work but what we haven’t done is recognize that that control is almost illusory, particularly when you see these kinds of disasters.“
Char Miller, W.M. Keck Professor of Environmental Analysis at Pomona College
Our examination of the conditions that exacerbated the Los Angeles wildfires earlier this month continues today with perspective from author and environmental historian Char Miller.
Southern California received some much-needed rain over this past weekend, allowing firefighters to better contain the Palisades, Eaton, and Hughes fires. At the same time, the burned hillsides now bear much greater risk of mudslides and floods.
These communities and individual residents must make complicated decisions about how to securely rebuild for the future. California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have both advocated for eliminating some regulatory hurdles to help fast-track the reconstruction of Pacific Palisades and Altadena.
Having carefully studied California’s fire history, Char argues that haste could lead to repeats of the same land use, zoning, and construction mistakes that have increased residential fire risk across the state to begin with.
Climate change aside, land use policies that discount long-term environmental awareness are common contributing factors in nearly every type of disaster risk found in the Ten Across geography. Listen in as Ten Across founder Duke Reiter talks with Char Miller about the developing events in Los Angeles and how they relate to many other risk and adaptation stories across Interstate 10 in recent history.
Related articles and resources:
Books by Char Miller referenced in this discussion:
Not So Golden State: Sustainability vs. the California Dream
Ten Across Conversations podcasts referenced in this discussion:
“Urban Expert Bill Fulton’s Perspective of How LA Can Rebuild Following the Fires” (Ten Across Conversations podcast, January 15, 2025)
“State Preemption is on the Rise: What it Means for Cities” (Ten Across Conversations podcast, April 6, 2023)
“Leading the Country’s 2nd Largest City with LA Mayor Eric Garcetti” (Ten Across Conversations podcast, November 17, 2022)
Other references:
The Fragmented Metropolis (Robert M. Fogelson, 1993)
Guest Speaker
Char Miller is the W.M. Keck Professor of Environmental Analysis and History at Pomona College and director of the Claremont Colleges’ environmental analysis program. Char is the author or editor of 12 nonfiction books including his latest, Burn Scars and Not So Golden State: Sustainability vs. the California Dream. Char last joined us for the Ten Across Conversations podcast in 2021 to discuss his book West Side Rising, a history of the 1921 San Antonio flood.
