Here in CA you can start with breakfast in the morning, at the beach, have lunch in the city and make it to dinner in the hills by five-home before 7.

It's all surrounded by hills, mountains and Nat'l Forests. If you do a Google map of Lost Angeles, you can see that we have giant swaths of green all around the area.

For the people who can afford to live in the hills and have huge lots? Fire prevention is mostly this - Keep a 100 yd buffer zone around your house, plant fire resistant around the house and pray.

The city and county FDs have the authority to come on your property and if the buffer zone is too small or does not exsist? They will write you a citation then,-if you refuse to do the brush clearance, they will bring a crew to your home, do it for you and send you a nice bill for the work.
I live about 10 minutes from the Angeles National Forest, not in any fire areas, but close enough to see the mountains burn, smell the smoke and see the fires burning. It's a crazy place, but would never want to live any place else!