Home sweet kindling

Re “Homes burn as fire rages,� May 7

Santa Barbara burns again.

Matchsticks are made out of wood. Multimillion-dollar homes in wildfire areas are built out of wood. Most of the houses that we see on TV going up like matchsticks will be rebuilt with wood.

What’s wrong with this picture? There are ways to build houses that will not burn as easily.

It might cost a little more, but much less than building a home twice.

Murry I. Rozansky

Chatsworth

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I would like to see a published list of the government officials who approved the building of homes in an area that was just begging for this type of disaster.

Richard Varenchik

Santa Clarita

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As I read about in the paper and watched on TV the Santa Barbara fire, two thoughts immediately arose:

Many of the homes burned to the ground have large swimming pools. For a few hundred dollars, a generator/pump with a wide hose can be bought. A homeowner could use it very effectively to pump out pool water and douse approaching flames and surrounding brush.

The Times speaks of dense brush, unburned in half a century, contributing to the fire’s intensity. Nearby is Lompoc Prison with many largely idle prisoners who might be only too happy to get out and get some serious exercise that actually does some good.

Apparently this long-untouched, incendiary brush hasn’t touched the imagination of state fire or prison officials.

Alan V. Weinberg

Woodland Hills