L.A. County Fire plans to order Topanga residents to shelter in homes during extreme wildfires when evacuation through winding mountain roads isn’t viable.

Experts warn that some residents lack adequate home hardening and that the policy echoes Australia’s disastrous Black Saturday fires that killed 173 people.

But the Fire Department argues there are simply no safer options for the mountain town.

Dozens of Topanga residents gathered in the town’s Community House to hear Assistant Fire Chief Drew Smith discuss how the Los Angeles County Fire Department plans to keep Topangans alive in a fierce firestorm.

In the red-brick atrium, adorned with exposed wood and a gothic chandelier, Smith explained that if a fire explodes next to the town and flames will reach homes within minutes, orchest

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