Fires & Power Shutoffs Could Reshape California, One Expert Says

CALIFORNIA — A fire-proofing service that combs through the suburbs each year like a lawn-mowing company and builds a fire barrier around each home: that's one of the steps California may need to take in order to cope with a future full of wildfires and power shutoffs, according to a Stanford University expert.

That fire-proofing service is one of many ways the state government may need to play an increasingly large role in our lives as climate change makes wildfires more frequent and severe, Michael Wara, director of the Climate and Energy Policy Program at Stanford's Woods Institute for the Environment, told the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Fires and shutoffs, after all, hurt some more than others: not everyone can afford solar panels and backup generators when an outage hits. If the state decides to step in to help fund backup power systems or updated grids for utilities like PG&E, that may mean new taxes, Wara said.

Then there's the trouble of homeowner's insurance, which is increasingly expensive for people in fire-prone areas. To combat that issue, the state may need to jump in and order residents to replace flammable trees with succulents or granite moats to help drive down insurance costs, according to Wara.

The end result could be a state that looks pretty different from the California we know today.