Column: California wildfires to Florida hurricanes, how the rich game climate change
A massive wildfire burns on the outskirts of Paradise, California, United States, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2018. The blaze forced the evacuation of more than 100,000 people, destroyed homes and forced the closure of roads in the Sierra Nevada foothills area east of San Francisco, authorities said. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)
This image provided by the U.S. Forest Service in Butte County, Calif., shows the Paradise Fire. (U.S. Forest Service via AP)
A massive wildfire burning in Paradise, California, United States, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2018. The Paradise Fire forced the evacuation of more than 100,000 people, destroyed homes and forced the closure of roads in the Sierra Nevada foothills area east of San Francisco, authorities said. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)
This image provided by the U.S. Forest Service in Butte County, Calif., shows the Paradise Fire. (U.S. Forest Service via AP)
(AP Photo/Jon Elswick)
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PHOENIX — One of the best ways for rich people to fight climate change is to leave the country.
That’s the lesson of wildfire season in Arizona and California, where two of the nation’s worst fires have already been extinguished.
A major fire in Arizona was just 11 percent contained as of Tuesday because of heavy rainfall, forcing the evacuation of more than 125,000 people from northern Pinal County, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office said.
A fire near Los Angeles last week also was just 11 percent contained, having burned nearly 80 percent of the land it was meant to burn, and officials ordered residents in the South Bay area to evacuate as a major fire burned on the outskirts of coastal L.A.
The wildfires aren’t just devastating for the American psyche. They are destroying millions of dollars in assets, killing