Letters to the Editor: Let wildfire victims rebuild their gas-connected homes

To the editor: Only 65 short years since its stunning debut in 1959, who would’ve guessed that the solution to California wildfires is — wait for it — the Westinghouse Total Electric Home? (“The Los Angeles fires are no excuse to slow down on clean energy,” column, Jan. 30)

Given the ever-increasing electric rates in California, there is no scenario where an all-electric home is cheaper than natural gas without heavy “incentivizing” by all layers of government.

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass is doing the right thing by cutting red tape so homeowners affected by the Palisades fire can rebuild more easily.

Dennis Gimian, Irvine

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To the editor: Backing off from rules requiring new homes to be all-electric is a big step backward.

These fires were intensified by the unseasonable wet spring growth coupled with the particularly dry summer caused by climate change. If we don’t stop emitting carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, this is likely to continue happening.

Burning gas should be a thing of the past, or at least we should try to reduce its use. Our children and grandchildren will wonder what we were thinking when we recklessly continued burning fossil fuels despite knowing the harm caused to our health and that of our planet.

We’re already seeing so many dangers caused by fossil fuels. I may not be here by the time the planet becomes unlivable, but I’d at least like to think we did what we could.

Let the politicians at all levels — city, county, state and national — know that we need to stop burning.

Maggie Wineburgh-Freed, Los Angeles