Not the country, California. And not the mountains that burn or the deserts that blow sand.
From beach to foothill, Los Angeles has the most densely populated Metro in the United States.
With nearly 7,000 people per square mile.
Other locations in California take up the second, third and fourth national rankings.
You can easily travel 100 miles from the beach and never leave paved land. And that is EXACTLY what I meant. If you want to build something in SoCal, you're going to either build further up the mountains and watch it burn, or you'll be tearing down existing lots that probably have homes on them.