Marin Voice: ‘Wildfire Prepared Home’ demonstration shows how much can be done

Wildfire is a fact of life for many Americans. As of last month, more than 33,000 wildfires had burned over 6 million acres of land in the United States. Nearly 3.3 million U.S. properties are at high to extreme risk across the western U.S., according to Verisk, an insurance rating bureau.

Recently, the Insurance Institute of Business and Home Safety (IBHS) released its report about the 2023 conflagration in Lahaina on the island of Maui. If found that, unless immediate action is taken at both the parcel and community levels, conflagration events will continue to destroy communities.

We can’t stop wildfires, yet we can defend our neighborhoods from wildfire damage. Homeowners are not powerless against the threats of fire in the wildland areas near their communities. The latest research from IBHS shows homeowners can mitigate three vulnerable areas of their home – the roof, specific building features and “Zone 0,” aka the 5-foot perimeter immediately surrounding a structure, to reduce the risk of ember ignition.

In 2022, IBHS launched Wildfire Prepared Home, the first-ever wildfire mitigation designation program allowing homeowners to show they have taken a system of science-backed mitigation actions proven to meaningfully reduce wildfire risk. The program includes built-in homeowner education with user-friendly resources to help homeowners evaluate their property and complete the needed mitigation actions.

While designations are currently available in California, the Wildfire Prepared Home standard can be used by homeowners in all wildfire-prone states to reduce their home’s risk and increase their chances of returning to their home after a wildfire occurs.

IBHS conducted focus group studies in 2020 to better understand homeowner perceptions around wildfire and wildfire preparedness. From our meetings with California and Colorado groups, we know most homeowners are aware of the wildfire hazard and want to understand how to reduce risk. The study also found once homeowners successfully take the first step toward preparedness, they are far more likely to continue the path to reducing their home’s vulnerability. So, the question is, how do we get the necessary information to homeowners?

IBHS is taking Wildfire Prepared Home on the road to demonstrate the effectiveness of the program’s science-based mitigations and grow awareness through a series of live burns. Two structures, one built to the Wildfire Prepared Home standard and another built to typical California construction, are threatened by spot fires typical of windborne ember ignition. In the demonstration, the Wildfire Prepared Home side remains unscathed, while the unmitigated side is typically engulfed in flames within 20 minutes.

Witnessing this live wildfire burn is extremely powerful, and often inspires change among those witnessing the rapid inferno. I invite the community to see the next one firsthand on Saturday from 1:30 p.m.to 2:30 p.m. during the 2024 Ember Stomp festival in San Rafael, which is free to attend.

The good news is that mitigation actions do not have to be costly. An IBHS and Headwaters 2024 economics study found that retrofitting a home for greater wildfire resistance can cost as little as $2,000, while a previous 2022 study found that new construction homes can be mitigated for wildfire for less than $3,000. For existing homes, many of the suggested mitigation actions to retrofit can be done as do-it-yourself projects with only a little sweat equity, such as removing vegetation in the 5-foot zone around the home. Doing so nearly doubles a property’s survival rate, according to a 2021 study from Zesty.AI and IBHS.

The science is clear. Mitigating against wildfire is possible, and as wildfires continue to grow in frequency and intensity, the time to act is now. Homeowners living at risk of wildfire can reduce their personal and community risk through affordable changes, using IBHS research to take the first step.

Homeowners in California looking to go a step further can begin their journey toward owning a Wildfire Prepared Home by visiting wildfireprepared.org.

Anne Cope, of South Carolina, is chief engineer at the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety. Learn more about Saturday’s Ember Stomp festival in San Rafael at firesafemarin.org.