LA fires showed how much neighborliness matters for wildfire safety—schools can do much more to teach it

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 14:19:40 +0000

On Jan. 7, 2025, people across the Los Angeles area watched in horror as powerful winds began spreading wildfires through neighborhood after neighborhood. Over three weeks, the fires destroyed more than 16,000 homes and businesses. At least 31 people died, and studies suggest the smoke and stress likely contributed to hundreds more deaths.

For many of us who lived through the fires, it was a traumatic experience that also brought neighborhoods closer together. Neighbors scrambled to help each other as burning embers started spot fires that threatened homes. They helped elderly and disabled residents evacuate.

As the LA region rebuilds a year later, many people are calling for improvements to zoning regulations, building codes, insurance and emergency communications systems. Conversations are underway about whether rebuilding in some locations makes sense at all.

Report: Declining enrollment converts schools to apartments

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 13:52:11 +0000

Amid a steady decline in K12 enrollment, nearly 2,000 apartments were created from former school buildings across the U.S. in 2024, according to a new report by RentCafe.

The report showed a 296% increase from 2023 to 2024 in school buildings converted into apartment complexes. Around 70% of these upcoming apartments are projected to come from cities in Ohio, Washington state and Pennsylvania, among others. The apartments are also in Washington, D.C.

Cities like Columbus, Cleveland, Seattle and Pittsburgh are projected to see the highest number of future school-to-apartment conversions, Alexandra Both, the author of the report, told The Center Square.

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LA fires showed how much neighborliness matters for wildfire safety—schools can do much more to teach it

Report: Declining enrollment converts schools to apartments