Los Angeles area does NOT have the natural resources necessary to support such a large and highly dense human population. I've known this since I was a kid, when they stole our irrigation water from Northern California, when they stole water from Arizona. But people insist on living together in giant unsustainable greasy clumps. The fire spreading is a natural consequence of not having water, which was a natural consequence of putting too many people in that place. People can point fingers at the decisions of officials, but the problem isn't fundamentally solvable with government. Malthus wasn't wrong.