BILLINGS, Montana — So would controlled burns, a proven, historic practice that has been neglected in recent decades. Some even suggest building fire-hardened shelters in vulnerable towns, where residents can ride out the deadly firestorms.
Hundreds of thousands of people were told to leave their homes ahead of the blazes still raging in California to get out of harm's way. Some experts say there's been an over-reliance on evacuation and too little attention paid to making communities safe as climate change brings more severe fires.
Search crews have found many victims inside their vehicles, or just next to them, overcome by flames and smoke as they tried to flee.
