When a California town burned: a journalist's warning about megafires and rebuilding

CBS News correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti’s book excerpt on the Palisades Fire recounts how Pacific Palisades was overwhelmed by a megafire amid 100 mph winds, slow on-the-ground response, and blocked roads, with officials blaming wind and drought rather than accountability. The piece argues that current building codes and planning are ill-suited for escalating fires and presents the disaster as a warning about a warming world and the urgent need for real, structural change in how communities prepare for and rebuild after megafires.