Now that we have dispelled some myths about wildfire, here’s how to reduce your risk. The first step is to fireproof your house. Houses are your first target, because they are highly flammable. As a result, when houses burn, they burn at hotter temperatures than vegetation.
UPDATE: Please click the link below to read Greg Rubin’s response to the 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires –
Response to 2025 LA Wildfires by Greg Rubin
Fireproof Your House: The Basics
Site selection, building design, and building materials can significantly reduce your chances of losing your home in a wildfire.
Here’s what some local San Diego experts have to say about home safety and wildfire:
“While creating defensible space is a critical component of fire risk reduction, it fails to address the main reason homes burn – embers landing on flammable materials in, on, or around the home, igniting the most dangerous concentration of fuel available, the house itself.” – Richard Halsey, biologist and fire ecologist
“Vegetation often has nothing to do with whether or not a structure burns. Some of the most important steps you can take to defend your home against fire involve the architecture of the house itself. Important fire-defense areas include roofing, vents, eaves, windows, and secondary elements that immediately contact your house, like shade structures, decks, and fences.” – Greg Rubin and Lucy Warren
Site Selection: Fire Topography
Avoid building a house in the natural path of a fire. There are certain areas in San Diego County that are far more fire-prone than others. The hot, dry Santa Ana winds are a major component in the spread of wildfire. Wide open, wind-swept canyons that are aligned east to west with these hot winds can be fire traps. (Landis) Narrow canyons may act as “natural chimneys.” This is because winds tend to channel through them, and pave the path of a wildfire.
Also, homes that aren’t adequately set back on a narrow ridge can be vulnerable to direct flames and heat. (Halsey) Homes built on top of peninsulas with land dropping down on three sides of a narrow cul-de-sac are especially vulnerable. (Rubin & Warren)
Another clue to look for is what is growing in the open spaces around your neighborhood. If adjacent hillsides are covered with weeds and grass, and no native shrubs, this may indicate a previous wildfire.
“Weeds and annual grasses can burn every year. If you see nothing but weeds and annual grasses, the area may burn frequently.” – Frank Landis, California Native Plant Society
Building Design & Materials
Fireproof your house by choosing appropriate building design and materials. The roof is the most vulnerable part of a house. This is because it is exposed to airborne embers, which can travel for blocks before entering a home. As an example, wood shingle roofs are 21 times more likely to burn than other types. As a result, they are no longer used in San Diego construction.
In the 2003 and 2007 wildfires, embers entering attic vents were a significant cause of property damage. In addition, embers can enter through seams under roofing tiles, and then ignite. As a result, fire prevention vents are one of the least expensive and important steps you can take to protect your house.
Design elements such as reduced overhangs or boxed eaves, and under-eave vents located near the roofline and away from the wall, can also provide some protection from ignition and heat. You can also protect your windows with nonflammable shutters.
Therefore, according to Richard Halsey, “Ember-resistant attic vents are key to preventing embers from entering the home, a main cause of home loss during wildfires.”
Install a Sprinkler System
One of the best ways to protect your home from burning down is to install a gutter-mounted sprinkler system. Keeping your roof and surrounding area wet can prevent embers from igniting your home. You can purchase a sprinkler kit for about $200 from W.A.S.P. by clicking here.
Wildfire Risk Reduction Booklet
The California Chaparral Institute has prepared a wildfire risk reduction booklet. Please share this booklet with friends and family. This booklet describes the benefits of ember-resistant attic vents and non-flammable roofing materials. It also describes exterior sprinklers and defensible space. Furthermore, local Fire Safe Councils can even apply for FEMA grants to retrofit entire communities!
Fireproof Your House Checklist
Another great resource is this helpful checklist to fireproof your house. This checklist was prepared by local landscape architect Kay Stewart.
- First, remove debris from roof and gutters.
- Screen vents on foundation, roof, or walls.
- Weatherstrip house, toolsheds, and garage doors.
- Enclose or stucco any exposed framing.
- Remove any flimsy wood trellises.
- Replace deck or balcony with non-combustible materials.
- Also, replace combustible stairways.
- Upgrade your roof with a Class A roofing assembly.
- Finally, install California Fire Safe windows.
Here’s what Kay Stewart has to say about maintaining the exterior of your home:
“Houses need to be clean, too. Litter on a roof will ignite. Small dimension timber trellises, guard rails, and fences ignite houses. Open windows allow ember attack. Cute willow furniture on porches or wreaths on doors ignite homes. Combustible materials stored in a shed with gaps that allow embers inside ignites the shed, which consequently ignites the house.” – Kay Stewart
Finally, once you have taken steps fireproof your house, it’s time to protect your property.
Here are two articles every San Diegan should read about protecting your home from wildfire:
- Landscaping Your Home in a Fire Area: http://www.laspilitas.com/fire.htm
- Protecting Your Home From Fire: http://www.californiachaparral.org/bprotectingyourhome.html
San Diego County residents: if you haven’t already, please register your cell phone and e-mail address for AlertSanDiego, in order to receive special alerts regarding fires and other emergencies.
http://www.readysandiego.org/alertsandiego/#register
Here is my FAVORITE RESOURCE EVER that everyone should read:
US Green Building Council Wildfire Defense Toolkit for California Homeowners
ALSO: The Watch Duty app is excellent – keep this on your phone for wildfire updates in your area.
Thanks to these local experts for contributing to this article:
Kay Stewart is a local native plant expert and landscape architect. You can contact her via her website.
Frank Landis is a botanist, writer, and conservation chair of the San Diego Chapter of the California Native Plant Society.
Greg Rubin is the CEO of California’s Own Native Landscape Design, Inc. He co-authored The California Native Landscape and also The Drought-Defying California Garden with Lucy Warren. Certainly, Rubin is a recognized leader in the field of native plant design. He specializes in creating stable, sustainable, ornamental, low-input gardens with substantial habitat and wildlife value. In addition, he has been featured in Kiplinger’s, the Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times. Most noteworthy, his recent landscaping projects include Hilton Resorts, the Del Mar Fairgrounds, The Lux Art Institute, Agua Hedionda Lagoon Discovery Center, and Ecke Ranch High Point. You can contact Greg Rubin via his website.
Rubin, Greg and Lucy Warren, The California Native Landscape: The Homeowner’s Design Guide to Restoring Its Beauty and Balance. Timber Press Inc., 2013. Order here.
Rubin, Greg and Lucy Warren, The Drought-Defying California Garden: 230 Native Plants for a Lush, Low-Water Landscape. Timber Press, Inc., 2016. Order here.
Richard Halsey is a biologist and fire ecologist. He is a popular teacher of natural science at the San Diego Natural History Museum and San Diego’s Mission Trails Regional Park. Rick has also spent more than two decades studying Southern California chaparral. Visit the California Chaparral Institute website to learn more about his education and research efforts.
Halsey, Richard W., Fire, Chaparral, and Survival in Southern California. Sunbelt Publications, Inc., 2005. (Free signed copy when you join the California Chaparral Institute for only $40!)
