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(David Kay)
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The Patch reports the Fire Department investigation found the source of the March 23rd brush fire in the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve to be a homeless encampment in the area of origin. The fire was accelerated by strong winds.
While the causes of these incidents are always concerning, there is another important part of the story: an ecological and historical one. Why did an intense brush fire burn at all in a wetland? After all, wetlands are supposed to be wet. The reason is that Ballona is different, thanks to a century of human interference that has altered the natural ecology, creating a cascade of increasing fire and endangered species risk.