I remember some years ago during the annual California fires, they interviewed a tired, sooty fireman as he was trudging back from the front lines, flames still going in the background . . . it went something like this:
Reporter: "How are things?"
Fireman: "Pretty good, actually . . . "
Reporter: "What do you mean by that? Homes are burning!"
Fireman: "I mean as far as we can tell, nobody died, we got everyone out. As far as those houses are concerned, most of them have burned before, we tell people not to rebuild there, and they do. Frame homes, lots of plants up against the walls, sometimes even cedar shakes. And you just watch - as soon as the ashes cool, they'll rebuild in the same place, and 5 or 10 years down the road, we'll be having this some conversation when they burn down again. Some people never learn."
