I have abetter one: Many moons ago, during one of the ObSoCalFires, the news 'copter was focusing on a neighborhood going up in flames -- that is, except for one house which had:
-- Tile roof
-- Stonework and brickwork exteriors on all visible facings
-- Surrounded by rock, gravel, and the harder-to-ignite evergreens (*LOTS* of iceplant)
Entire neighborhood went away -- except for that house.
I hate to be this blunt, but: The folks whose houses burned got what was coming to them -- they built with the wrong materials; they insisted on surrounding themselves with flammables; they built in nature's wind-tunnels; and I somehow doubt they did very good jobs of clearing up the yearly deadfall. And the real bitch is: There's is exactly zero chance any of these cross-eyed nitwits will learn the lesson. I shed no tears for them.
