"Wildfires Spark Where Growth Is Sprawling"

"Fire is as common to western states as the drought-dried shrubs that feed the flames. This month marks the 25th anniversary of the Oakland Hills firestorm in the San Francisco Bay Area that destroyed about 3,000 homes and killed 25 people. At an estimated $1.5 billion in losses –$2.65 billion in today's dollars – it remains the country’s most costly wildfire to date.

Wildfires, long considered a problem exclusive to the West, now threaten many other parts of the country as extreme weather becomes more commonplace and more people live in areas at risk for wildfire.

Jodi Aldridge never thought her Myrtle Beach, South Carolina home was vulnerable. But on the morning of March 16, 2013, one of her coworkers at Chili’s pointed to smoke in the distance, near where she lived."

Eric Sagara, Emmanuel Martinez, and Ike Sriskandarajah report for Reveal/High Country News October 11, 2016.