We’ve got a new sponsor, here at The Lookout! Wildfire Safety Systems has invented a fireproof shed/wildfire shelter, the ‘FORT’, that you can stay safe in if you get trapped by wildfire at your home. It’s also a place you can stash all of your heirlooms and treasures if you have to evacuate and don’t … Read more
In this episode, we talk with Sheryl Drinkwater, an architect working at the intersection of design and wildfire, in the Bay Area. We talked about new wildfire regulations recently adopted for portions of the Berkeley Hills which are among the most stringent in the nation – they require homeowners to maintain the first five feet … Read more
Home Hardening In May of 2025, we headed to Los Angeles for a week and rode e-bikes around, looking at the recent fire areas and checking out wildfire hazards across the edges of the City with a few of our most-experienced wildland firefighter/fire behavior analysts friends. We were there to try to make sense of … Read more
Zeke Lunder and David Hertz discuss the role of architects in fire mitigation, highlighting the importance of home hardening and community brigades. They discuss the challenges of rebuilding in fire-prone areas, such as the Palisades and Bel Air, and the potential for consolidating lots to create fire breaks. The conversation also touches on the impact … Read more
As a prelude to our upcoming ‘Danger in Plain Sight’ Lookout video series about fire hazards in LA’s foothills, I critiqued an architecture video, shot in a very high fire hazard area of La Cañada Flintridge, NE of Downtown LA. Summary We discuss a luxury home in La Canada Flint Ridge, built by a husband/wife … Read more