California’s Wildfires Are Not a Morality Tale

One of the oldest narrative tropes about California is that human habitation here toes the edge of what the environment allows. The meme often comes with a moral: Living on land that so readily burns, shakes, and slides was the state’s original sin. And one day, this place will teach its people a lesson.

So when a crisis of nature strikes, as it routinely does, judgment comes out in force. Consider the past week’s flurry of reactions to the seasonal wildfires that have so far left 200,000 acres scorched, air basins choked with smoke, hundreds of structures destroyed, and three people dead. Last week, planned blackouts designed to preempt further ignition created their own sub-crises by leaving three million without electricity. Even for a disaster-plagued state, these are seriously bad times. Some headlines implied: end times.