Vigliotti Compares LA Wildfires to Three Little Pigs in New Book

CBS News national correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti covered the devastating California wildfires last year. His new book, "Torched: How a City Was Left to Burn, and the Olympic Rush to Rebuild L.A.," published May 12 by Atria/One Signal, recounts that experience.

Vigliotti draws a parallel to the Three Little Pigs fable. In the story, three houses made of straw, sticks and bricks face a wolf that huffs and puffs to test them.

Last year in Los Angeles, extreme wind and fire fueled by climate change acted as the wolf. The blaze leveled most of Pacific Palisades and Altadena. Not all homes fared the same.

Los Angeles' "straw" homes, older wood structures built before modern fire codes, suffered many losses. "Stick" homes built to current code did better, though code permits wood construction and many still burned. Far fewer homes matched the third pig's "brick" house by exceeding code. Many of those survived.

Now Los Angeles hurries to rebuild before the 2028 Olympics, which Governor Newsom once dubbed the "Recovery Games." Cleanup and permitting that normally take a year now wrap up in months.

Fast timelines do not always mean poor quality, but shortcuts often do. The rush leaves little room to consider building differently.

Instead, the city sticks to the old blueprint: new wood homes. Steel and concrete composite homes resist flames much longer than wood, cost about the same and carry lower insurance premiums. Vigliotti reports in his book that many homeowners never hear about this option because switching takes time.

After a 2011 tornado destroyed Joplin, Missouri, the city raised building standards. Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, New Orleans put rebuilt homes on stilts.

On Katrina's 10th anniversary, President Obama said real change requires time and the courage to act differently.

In Los Angeles, the status quo and speed guide recovery. Permits advance quickly, but most homes have not started construction. Time remains to make changes.

Adaptation is essential. The "wolf" persists and grows stronger. It need not prevail. The story shows one house still standing after the wolf huffed and puffed.