Squeaks wrote:

>> Yep. And CA'ians insist on building right smack dab in the middle of it
>> and wonder why they get burned out, year after year. Duh.
>
> Yeah, and those idiots in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Alabama,
> Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas insist on continuing to live there,
> one hurricane season after another. And those folks in Oklahoma,
> Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas - jaysus, don't they see "tornado"
> stamped on their foreheads? And what about those maroons in Iowa,
> Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, etc., who are living alongside the
> Mississippi? Don't those periodic floods make an impact on their
> housing decisions? Duh.

A couple decades ago, I ran through that same train of thought, wondering
where I'd want to settle down. I finally decided that the safest place to be
was the Pacific Northwest. Then Mount St. Helens erupted.

FWIW, *before* the wildfires came this year, I heard a very interesting
radio spot. The announcer pointed out that centuries ago, the vegetation in
Northern California was adapted to wet summers. [He said] We have fossil
evidence and archaeological evidence to prove that. But now, the vegetation
has adapted to the "natural" conditions of the present day: Forest fires.
The point of the ad was to announce a Sierra-County community-education
initiative to teach people how to protect themselves and their properties
from the fires -- because the fires *would* come, whether people were ready
or not.

Bob