Californians could someday choose to face the flames of wildfires rather than evacuate to safety—and possible home loss—if supporters can sell the controversial “stay and defend” policy to other state fire officials. Fire experts from seven Southern California counties were slated to meet to discuss the possibility Wednesday, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times Tuesday.

Although refusing to evacuate flies in the face of what many consider safe practice, there are could be substantial benefits in teaching those holdouts how to defend their property and that of nearby neighbors, according to one school of thought.

"We don't have enough resources to put an engine at every house in harm's way," Ventura County Fire Chief Bob Roper told the Times. "We figure, if people are going to stay, maybe they can become part of the solution."

There’s precedent for believing that might work. California fire officials credit stay-and-defenders for saving dozens of homes during the Yorba Linda fires in November, according to the article. The practice is also commonly accepted in Australia, where it’s more descriptively attributed as “prepare, stay, and defend or leave early” (see “Stay or Go: An Australian Perspective on Community Response to the Threat of Wildfire” in the March 2008 Natural Hazards Observer).

Even in the face of those successes, there is still reason to be concerned about implementing the practice. A main concern of detractors is that residents who have a choice in evacuating might believe they’re capable of withstanding fire conditions until they experience the reality of the blazes.

"People will make the decision to stay and then when the 40-foot wall of flame comes toward them, they will want to get out and we will have a disaster," President of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Pat McOsker told the Times. "People will be putting their lives at risk needlessly."

Both U.S. and Australian fire officials say most wildfire deaths happen as a result of “late, panicky evacuations,” according to a related article in the Times.

Officials stressed that, if the policy is adopted, the public will need to be thoroughly educated on proper defense techniques and have both the character and physical wherewithal needed to stare down flames.

"It's not a simple thing," U.S. Forest Service fire expert Sarah McCaffrey is quoted as saying in the Times. "It takes a certain personality."