
"We all take a risk living here," the producer of films including "Enchanted" said. "But that land should be maintained."
There have been at least five fires in the area since Josephson moved there eight years ago. Most were fueled by brush, which consists of drought-resistant shrubs that burn easily and intensely.
Impatient with government bureaucracy, including a $150 fee for permission to remove brush from state parkland, some of Josephson's neighbors cleared it on their own.
They might have saved some of their homes. Of 81 houses in the vicinity, Josephson said 54 are still standing amid the wreckage of this month's Palisades fire, including his. It is particularly remarkable because investigators believe the blaze could have started a few hundred feet away, around a popular hiking destination known as Skull Rock.
Angelenos are asking why so much flammable material was allowed to build up around now-devastated communities. It was particularly dangerous this winter, as vegetation grew quickly following last year's record rains and dried out in a subsequent drought.
This story is from the January 21, 2025 edition of The Wall Street Journal.
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This story is from the January 21, 2025 edition of The Wall Street Journal.
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