The wildfire currently raging across Washington has reached epic proportions, extending to a conflagration stretching more than 1,000 miles long, with only 100 miles of the blaze under some level of control. So it might have seem prudent for John Belles, who lived near the town of Omak, Washington, to abandon his home when the fire approached. But according to an article in The Guardian, Belles, a self-described inventor, isn't that kind of guy. Plus, he had the advantage of living inside a concrete dome house he built 15 years ago. When the inferno started getting close, Belles just hosed down the dome, ducked inside, and waited out the flames, which eventually reached 12 feet above ground level. While the surrounding earth is charred, Belles's home is still standing, and he was uninjured from the blaze. While it's not specifically called a Brutalist design in the story, we like to believe that a beton brut-esque building could potentially provide the same shelter.
This massive wildfire, which is all the more aggressive due to drought conditions, is showing no signs of abating. Thousands of buildings are threatened, three firefighters have died, and thousands of people have been forced from their homes. President Obama declared a State of Emergency for Washington due to the blaze.
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