The Los Angeles fires are a warning to all of us. Over the past week, lives, homes, businesses and entire communities have been lost in what’s expected to be among the nation’s costliest disasters ever. But with more than one-third of the U.S. population living in counties with high wildfire risk, this begs the question: Should lots of people relocate?

Crystal Kolden, director of the Fire Resilience Center at the University of California at Merced and a former wildland firefighter, said abandoning these areas isn’t the only option.

“The goal in my mind is not to say, ‘Oh well, people just shouldn’t live in these places,’ particularly because we have a pretty big housing crisis in California and elsewhere in the West. Instead we can ask, ‘How can we build these structures not to burn, and how can we control the fuels around them to minimize that risk?'” Kolden said.

On the show today, Kolden explains why the L.A. fires have been so tough to put out, why wildfires are different from other natural disasters like hurricanes and floods, and how devastated communities can rebuild in a way that makes them more resilient to future fires.

Later, a listener responds to Kimberly’s tips for throwing a house party and shares a tip of their own for cleaning up afterward. Then, Brad Stulberg, author of “Master of Change,” was wrong about how to find motivation to keep up with your New Year’s resolutions.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• “L.A. Fires Show Limits of America’s Efforts to Cope With Climate Change” from The New York Times

• “Column: Recovery will be tempered by hard decisions and, if we aren’t careful, inequality” from The L.A. Times

• “Palisades and other Southern California fires could be most expensive in US history” from LAist

• “More People Are Living in the Riskiest Wildfire Zones” from Bloomberg 

• “‘Zone Zero’ Mandates Near Completion for High Wildfire Risk Areas” from the Sierra Club

• “‘Conditions’ should be placed on California wildfire aid: House Speaker Mike Johnson” from USA Today

We want to hear your answer to the Make Me Smart question. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org.