For some, an executive order issued by California governor Gavin Newsom does little to address the complexities of living within an urban-wildland interface.

‘We are living in a new reality of extremes,’ said California governor Gavin Newsom in a press release that accompanied a February executive order issued after the Eaton and Pacific Palisades fires that destroyed homes, businesses, and neighbourhoods across Los Angeles.

The order, designed to harden communities against urban wildfires, introduced a statewide adoption of a ‘Zone 0’ approach around structures in fire-prone areas. It also updated the state’s Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps, which increased the amount of land considered at high or very high fire risk by 1.4 million acres. While homes at the periphery of open wilderness – perched on hillsides, nestled in canyons – were always in peril, the January fires and these new designations underscore that suburban-seeming neighbourhoods must also adapt.
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