Edith de Guzman of the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation spoke to National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” about the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles. The program, part of a special series on California wildfires, focused on L.A.’s preparedness for the fires — made worse by Santa Ana wind conditions — which have led to loss of life, burned thousands of structures and displaced thousands of Angelenos. De Guzman said that the past week has tested L.A.’s otherwise high level of fire preparedness. With “embers flying miles apart, fire ignition is extremely difficult to predict or control and it’s happening simultaneously in so many places,” said De Guzman, a University of California Cooperative Extension specialist on water equity and adaptation policy. She added that climate change and the fact that much of L.A.’s housing stock is built with wooden construction for seismic safety have made things worse.
Assistant Researcher in Urban Planning
Edith de Guzman (she/her) is an interdisciplinary researcher, practitioner, educator, curator, and consultant working with diverse audiences to understand and...
