Fires and Fences

Yesterday afternoon I turned the TV on to CNN and saw the reports of the wild fires that were burning in suburban areas of Dallas. Very nice homes were burning. What I saw was wooden fences were igniting and bringing the fire right to the homes. I thought about how dangerous this type of wooden fence is. I have one around my own yard. When I was young the yards in my parents' neighborhood were open. People did not wall themselves off from their neighbors. I have never given it much thought. Where I live every house has a wooden privacy fence. The builders include them as a standard part of the house. I started thinking about how bad these fences are. They rot after ten years, blow down during hurricanes and are expensive to replace. They wall you off from your neighbors which is both good and bad; but after I saw the fences conducting fire right to the houses, I decided the wood fences are just plain stupid. I noted when I visited Sun City Texas at Georgetown that fences were not allowed unless they are wrought iron. I hope the Frisco Lakes community will have the same rule.