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The politics of fire

2025/1/14
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Today, Explained

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David Siders
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Greg Pierce
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Sean Rameswaram: 洛杉矶发生大规模野火,造成巨大经济损失,消防员在灭火过程中甚至面临缺水问题,引发公众关注。 Greg Pierce: 城市供水系统并非为应对如此大规模的野火而设计,消防栓和供水量不足以应对快速蔓延的野火。居民私自用水也降低了水压。消防员缺水后只能依靠空中支援,效率大打折扣。使用海水灭火不可行,因为海水具有腐蚀性,且在强风条件下从海上取水存在危险。真正解决问题需要大量资金投入,提升供水系统和水运输效率,这需要巨额资金,重建家园的政治意愿与应对未来野火的必要投入之间存在矛盾。目前对洛杉矶大火责任的追究更多的是政治行为,而非对实际问题的解决。未来应该关注的是如何应对气候变化以及如何避免类似事件再次发生。 David Siders: 一些政治人物将大火归咎于加州政府为了保护濒危鱼类(Delta smelt)而限制用水,但这说法缺乏依据,加州水库水位充足。加州州长纽森否认了关于限制用水的说法,并签署行政命令暂停一些环保法规以加快重建速度;洛杉矶市长巴斯因在大火发生时出国访问而受到批评,这损害了她的公众形象,即使她解释自己一直保持联系并迅速返回,但不在现场仍然是负面因素。未来需要关注土地利用规划、房屋建设方式以及气候变化对野火的影响,单纯的重建可能无法解决根本问题,需要考虑在何处以及如何建设更具抗灾能力的房屋,个人搬迁行为并不能解决气候变化带来的风险。

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This chapter explores the surprising shortage of water during the recent devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. It examines why urban water systems are ill-equipped to handle wildfires of this magnitude and the resulting challenges faced by firefighters.
  • Urban water systems are not designed to fight large-scale wildfires.
  • Fire hydrants and water flow are insufficient for wildfires.
  • Firefighters ran out of water due to high demand and limited capacity.
  • Using ocean water is not feasible due to corrosiveness and environmental concerns.

Shownotes Transcript

Wildfires overtook Los Angeles, firefighters ran out of water, and the political finger-pointing began.

This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy and Travis Larchuck, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard and Peter Balonon-Rosen, engineered by Patrick Boyd and Andrea Kristinsdottir, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast)

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A fire hydrant burning during the Eaton fire in the Altadena area of Los Angeles county. Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images.

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