The last big fire in Topanga was in 1993, meaning it is overdue for the next big one. The average number of years between two successive fire events in the Santa Monica Mountains region is 28 years, according to the National Park Service. The biggest threat to homes is not a wall of flames but high winds that can fling glowing embers kilometres ahead of a fire. In autumn, the Santa Ana winds gust through the mountains, prompting red-flag warnings that indicate extreme risk. “I brought in a group of guys and we probably pulled out six trailers full of brush, sticks, leaves, small trees and branches,” he said.įire thrives on wind, steep slopes and dry vegetation and Topanga has all three. Three years ago, Lichter-Mark and his wife moved into a home constructed in 1938 with redwood siding, in front of a hill covered in dense brush. Most people live in wooden bungalows, built at a time when the fire risk was lower. “You’re here at the crunchiest time,” the beekeeper told Al Jazeera.Ī sign on the road leading to his house declares: “Danger – extreme fire hazard area.” A 20-minute drive from the Los Angeles sprawl, the community of about 8,000 people is a tinderbox. Topanga, California, US – Leaves crunched under Eli Lichter-Mark’s boots as he walked through his back yard in Topanga in the Santa Monica Mountains, where a drought driven by climate change has siphoned moisture from the oak tree canopy.
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