California brushfires. We often see televised reports of brushfires threateninghomes in

Chapter 0, Problem 17.37

(choose chapter or problem)

California brushfires. We often see televised reports of brushfires threateninghomes in California. Some people argue that the modern practice of quicklyputting out small fires allows fuel to accumulate and so increases the damage doneby large fires. A detailed study of historical data suggests that this is wrongthedamage has risen simply because there are more houses in risky areas.11 As usual,the study report gives statistical information tersely. Here is the summary of aregression of number of fires on decade (9 data points, for the 1910s to the 1990s):Collectively, since 1910, there has been a highly significant increase (r 2 = 0.61,P < 0.01) in the number of fires per decade. How would you explain thisstatement to someone who knows no statistics? Include an explanation of boththe description given by r 2 and its statistical significance.