"In response to the 2025 Los Angeles Regional Fires, USGBC-CA is convening leading experts on more sustainable, resilient rebuilding and recovery efforts for fire-affected communities.
This live webinar will bring together wildfire mitigation, residential design, planning, and landscape experts to provide information on resources and best practices for home rebuilding, landscape ecology restoration, and community resilience efforts.
Some of the topics covered will also include fire-resilient materials and structures for new construction, energy-efficient, all-electric design and construction, California native plants, creating defensible space, matching design with incentives and rebates, and more." More information https://usgbc-ca.org/wildfire-defense-rebuilding/
The panel included experts in the fields of architecture, design, construction and landscaping. Laura Dunbar, John Donley, Gregory Chasen, Ann Edminster, Steve Glenn and Ann Baker. Ben Stapleton of USGBC was the host.
Summary of the most important things to make a home fire resistant.
Metal roof
Cement cladding siding with thick Hardy board fire resistant for over one hour
No attic/crawl space vents or use 1/8" fireproof metal mesh over all vents
No or enclosed eaves
No multiple roofs that can trap burning embers
Metal double pane tempered windows
No wood/vinyl decks/fences/siding. Use cement/tile.
No trees overhanging/touching home
5 foot clearance around entire home free of furniture, shrubs
30' clean and green landscape clearance. Use succulents, gravel.
Easily accessible driveway to home for fire department
No gas to home
No plastic, vinyl flooring, composite construction material
First question to Greg Chasen was "is sustainability also fire resiliency?"
Greg Chasen: We have good case studies now after these fires. We must take a deep dive into the ones that resisted the forces at play. We must build stronger more resilient homes going forward. We shouldn't just recreate what we had before. We can learn from this disaster.
Steve Glenn: Fire resiliency starts with landscape. On the construction side we must create few opportunities for fire. We can use a metal roof, exterior cladding, windows with tempered glass and no eaves. Steel frames are not that important to protect the facade. You see steel frames are the only thing remaining after homes burned down in the fires so it's not that important. We need sprinklers on the roof, need more fire resilient design. Yes, it costs more but it costs less than not doing it (and home is destroyed).
What are the best practices?
Chasen: We saw houses that didn't survive the ember attack. New homes with lots of places where embers could be trapped on the roofs. Materials and form matter. We must seal the home and have no vents.
Dunbar: We need protected venting. Embers get in attic. Once they're in the attic the house is gone same with under the house (crawl space). Landscaping is also important.
Chasen: Windows are very important. Multiple roof lines trap golf ball sized embers. Windows must protect from the force to large blowing embers.
Edminster: Skylights are vulnerable. They create dams where flammable debris can collect. Also important is venting, non combustible cladding, landscape, windows. We need dual panes windows where both panes are tempered not just one.
What about landscaping?
Ann Baker: We need a fire defense. There must be good visibility from street to home. Can fire dept see home and defend it easily? Five feet non combustible zone around home. No shrubs, furniture. You could use gravel, succulents, plants that don't burn. 30 feet must be clean and green. Eliminate vertical fuel ladders. Wooden fences and screening privacy shrubs are a major fuel load. There should be no wood fence touching building. Trees must be away from roof line. Avoid hedging, avoid twigs, plants that drop needles.
What type of code should we be advocating for?
John: We've discussed this for years. It's not part of code to make existing homes more resistant. Only new building and additions must be to code but not existing. Firestorm deals with wind. It's wind and fire. We had hurricane winds that blew over cement walls. Even retaining wall had to be torn down because of fire damage and super hot temps.
What about materials?
Steve Glenn: Most important is cementitious cladding, hardy board with one hour fire rating, zip system also water barrier. Metal roofs more expensive than shingle. Tempered glass is expensive. We need LARR for ...(missed.)
Edminster: Cladding first line of defense. We need to protect occupants, structures and planet.
Chasen: 5/16 hardy board not good enough. We need thicker cement board panels.
Breakout groups.
Chasen, Edminster, building materials and design
Chasen: Gas, plastic are volatile. Avoid gas in home. Avoid vinyl floor, windows. The fire areas smell like burning plastic. I tasted plastic for a day afterward. Our homes have become so toxic because of plastic.
Plastic composite decks are toxic when they burn, melt. Porcelain tile deck good solution.
I'll post the video when it's ready. Slides from today's presentation below.
Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.
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