At their peak, the devastating wildfires that ignited around Los Angeles in January forced upward of 200,000 people to evacuate and torched more than 16,000 homes, offices, and shops. The total economic losses may reach as high as $275 billion. Now the blazes are fully contained and have mostly died down.

As Angelenos grapple with their losses, the disaster has turned into an excuse for some to litigate their grievances with the state: President Donald Trump said that federal aid to California should be conditioned on policy changes like voter ID laws. He also ordered a reservoir that isn’t connected to Southern California’s water supply to dump 2.2 billion gallons of water.

There were indeed decisions that did make the fires more destructive than they needed to be. Wildfires are a natural part of the landscape in Southern California, but as more people move into vulnerable areas, the risk of sparking a fire and the scale of the ensuing destruction grow. And as average temperatures rise due to climate change, the Golden State is likely to experience more of the weather sequences that created the fuel for the recent wildfires.

With thousands of people searching for housing, there’s immense pressure to rebuild fast. The state has relaxed permitting rules to speed up reconstruction. But putting everything back exactly where it was will only recreate the conditions that led to these intense infernoes in the first place, or worse.

“We have not built for the hazards we face now,” said Megan Mullin, faculty director of the Luskin........

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