Before one of the most destructive fires in California history swept through, the Pacific Palisades neighborhood on Los Angeles' west side was filled with expensive homes fronted by green, well-tended landscaping and popular boutiques and cafes.

While Stephen Pyne focuses on our cultural relationship with fire, Jack Cohen looks at fire from a scientific perspective. Both suggest that we have more control over fire disasters than we think.

For five consecutive days, wildfires fanned by strong winds have ravaged neighborhoods in Los Angeles, destroying more than 12,300 homes and buildings and leaving at least 16 dead. Fresh evacuations were ordered from Mandeville Canyon to the Interstate 405 freeway on Friday evening because of a flare-up of the massive Palisades Fire.