Wildfires
As wildfires continue to burn California I personally wanted to reach out to our friends to offer some advice in advance of a worsening situation. No doubt all of you have known fire victims of previous years or have been victims yourselves, however this information is worth re-familiarizing yourself with.
In October 2017 Northern California suffered a huge loss of personal property as the fires consumed around 250,000 acres and claimed the lives of 44 people. My village of Glen Ellen became the base of operations for firefighters from all over as they battled four converging fronts of the blaze, and their heroism is still felt by citizens to this day.
We were lucky that our health and our property was spared when so many were not; each year’s fire season is a stark reminder of that. However it is not all up to luck and there are steps you can take immediately to swing the odds in your favor, as well as some longer term plans.
Immediate Property Protection
Protecting your property from wildfire is also about protecting your neighbor; if their property burns then yours is likely to catch also. Creating a chain of 100’ defensible zones around your homes can protect a neighborhood better than a single home alone, depending on the terrain. Ready For Wildfire has a superb guide on clearances for shrubs, grasses, flammable plants and trees to create your defensible space.
Keeping your garden watered and maintained reduces the risk that embers will catch. Removing dry or dead foliage, ground-level debris and trimming overhanging branches are all one-day chores that we were glad to have observed prior to the 2017 fires. Cleaning gutters and roofs of debris is important to do as often as leaves fall as the dry tinder is perfect material for stray embers to catch. Investing in gutter guards that prevent leaf accumulation makes it easier to clean and reduces fire risk overall.
Portable sprinkler systems you use for your lawn can also be placed on your roof. Running them to soak combustible roofing materials for 15 minutes at sunset, or having them turn on with a timer at regular intervals can also protect against embers on the wind.
Property Upgrades
Some property upgrades cost more and take longer to implement, however we recommend them on most home remodels and as standard on new-build construction projects in Sonoma & Napa County where practical. Internal fire suppression systems are an obvious first suggestion, and although they will allow a property to survive longer they do not start to help until the fire is already on top of you.
Since PG&E’s power shut-offs in the years after 2017 many clients have installed independent back up generators or solar panel batteries to keep the essentials on. During a wildfire, purposefully or otherwise your power may be down, and depending on your set-up an isolator switch will separate your personal power supply from the grid.
If your HVAC system needs to be replaced or you are including one in the design of a new home you should consider installing a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) rated system. These operate in much the same way as MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) filters, but require more energy to effectively pull the air through your home. Once the system is in place HEPA or MERV filters can be used, but then when things get smokey each year switching in a HEPA filter will circulate the air far quicker than portable, single-room units.
If you have wanted to add a swimming pool to your property, fire suppression may be another reason to; they can hold an average of 35-40x more water than a fire truck, and if your property backs onto woodland or a forested creek your pool may be closer to the fire than the nearest hydrant. Purchasing and learning to use a water pump will help when you want to douse roofs and surrounding foliage, although an independent generator will be required if your power is down.
Attic, eave and foundation vents can all be replaced with a type that uses a metal mesh treated with a substance that expands at a critical heat. This closes these openings to the drafts that normally keep attic or underfloor spaces cool but would also allow hot embers to be pulled inside. We’ve used various models of the Vulcan Technologies vent for different applications that all work with this principal.
Although sometimes expensive if you are due for a new roof we recommend replacing roofing materials with standing-steam metal on structures close to forested areas. Most clients ask if the sound of rain on a metal roof is noticeable, which it is, however with how little rain California gets and the amount of insulation that current energy calculations require we believe the sound that does travel through is worth the additional safety.
Siding can also be improved by using noncombustible, ignition-resistant materials. Stucco, metal, and concrete are all great fire resistant materials, and although fiber cement board (like Hardie board) does not ignite or contribute to fire fuel it does allow heat to transfer through it. This means that to achieve a 1hr fire rating heat transferring and combustible materials should be applied to 5/8” type X sheetrock on the exterior. Therefore, if you are planning on going the fire resistant route for facade materials the cost differential may not be that large between skinning the exterior once in stucco vs twice in sheetrock, and then another material.
Construction & Rebuilding Costs
Following the fires in 2017 many people were left without a home to return to. There was a huge surge in the number of insurance claims that had every contractor in the Bay Area writing estimates for rebuild costs. Increasing numbers of potential projects created worry over material scarcity which increased the estimated build cost, and those who accepted those costs affirmed a “going rate” for a rebuild.
However the proportion of those who decided to rebuild was low compared to those who took an insurance payout and chose to move elsewhere. Thus an artificial bubble was created which has kept construction costs high but has allowed for a slower rebuild than was expected in the immediate aftermath. We expect a similar process to take place should fire season become particularly bad this year.