经济学人下载:学会和自然灾害共存(2)

Buildings and communities can be built in such a way that fires sweep through them—or better still, around them—leaving them more-or-less intact.
建筑和社区建可以以这样一种方式建在，即火灾会席卷，或者更好的是，将它们包围，使它们或多或少保持完整。

Infrastructure can be made more resilient. And forests themselves can be managed to reduce the risk of catastrophic blazes.
可以使基础设施更具恢复力。森林本身可以减少灾难性火灾的风险。

Start with the buildings. Most buildings burn not when the flaming front of a fire reaches them,
先从建筑开始。大多数建筑物会在大火的火焰触及建筑物，

but when embers (also called "firebrands") thrown off by distant fires land on them.
而不是在远处的大火抛出的余烬（也被称为“火种”）落在它们身上时燃烧。

A 2010 paper tracked how a 1991 fire in Oakland Hills burned steadily in a cluster of houses before embers were lifted by strong winds,
2010年的一篇论文追踪了1991年奥克兰丘的一场火灾如何在一群房屋中持续燃烧，直到余烬被强风吹起，

landing on other houses hundreds of metres away and igniting more than a dozen new "spot fires".
落在几百米外的其他房屋上，并引发了十几起新的“二次火灾”。

Estimates of the share of buildings lost to firebrands vary, but all are large—between 60% and 90%.
对火灾造成的建筑物损失的估计各不相同，但损失都很大——在60%到90%之间。

Clever design can help make buildings resistant to fires that spread in this way.
聪明的设计可以帮助建筑物抵抗以这种方式蔓延的火灾。

Materials such as concrete, adobe or stucco are a better bet than cladding walls in flammable wood.
像混凝土、土坯或灰泥这样的材料是比用易燃木材做覆盖板墙更好的选择。

Some composite panels promise to hold back the flames for two hours or more. Gaps under roofs can be blocked up, to stop embers drifting in.
一些复合材料面板承诺可以阻止火焰燃烧两个小时或更长时间。房顶下的空隙可以被堵住，以阻止余烬飘进来。

Vents can be covered with mesh, or eliminated entirely. Heat-resistant windows, which are less likely to break, help keep firebrands out.
通风口可以用网丝覆盖，或者完全不要通风口。不易碎的隔热窗户有助于将火源挡在外面。

Experts recommend a five-foot "non-combustible zone" around the base of homes.
专家建议房屋底部周围设置一个5英尺的“不易燃区”。

Neighbourhoods can be toughened up, too. In a report published in April,
邻里关系也可以得到增强。在四月出版的一篇报道中，

Dr Moritz and his colleague Van Bustic at the University of California in Berkeley describe how entire communities can be planned to resist fires.
Moritz博士和加州大学伯克利分校的同事描述了整个社区如何计划抵御火灾。

Building near water is one tactic. But moats are not the only defence.
建在水边是一种策略。但护城河并不是唯一的防御手段。

Open agricultural lands—including the vineyards common in the Napa Valley— can offer a useful buffer, too.
开放农业用地——包括在纳帕谷常见的葡萄园——也能提供有效的缓冲。

Even golf courses can serve as firebreaks. Rather than lining the greens with homes, Dr Moritz suggests doing the opposite, and putting houses in the middle.
即便是高尔夫球场也能作为防火带。与其把绿色区域与房屋排在一排，Moritz博士建议不如反过来，并把房屋排在中间。

Burying electricity lines can help avoid blackouts, as well as subsequent costly rebuilding.
埋线可以帮助避免停电，以及后续昂贵的重建费用。

It can also prevent power lines themselves sparking fires.
还能防止电线本身引发火灾。

That is a persistent problem in California, and one which has cost Pacific Gas & Electric, a utility, billions in settlements.
这在加州是一个长期存在的问题，已经让太平洋煤气与电力公司花费了数十亿美元的和解费用。

Australia, which also suffers from wildfires, has experimented with bunkers specially designed to withstand flames for an hour or more—
同样遭受野火袭击的澳大利亚已经试验了一种特别设计的掩体，可以承受一个小时或更长时间的火焰——

long enough for a flaming front to move through. These offer a last-resort option for trapped residents.
足以让火头通过。这为被困居民提供了最后的选择。