No home can be wildfire-proof, but these steps can help
No home is fireproof, but Steven and Nancy Girmant’s home in the hills of Topanga Canyon is close.
“We just want everyone to know that you, as a homeowner, can do this,” Steven told KTLA News. “We didn’t do this overnight; this is over the course of 10 years.”
The Girmants are part of what’s known as a “Firewise” community, meaning they and enough of their Topanga neighbors have taken steps to harden their homes and landscaping to reduce the risk of wildfires.
“So, an example for us is we started at those 5 feet from the house with vegetation that is not combustible,” Steven explained. “Moving out from those 5 feet, we have some succulents; we call them ember catchers.”
“Firewise has been around for over 20 years now and it is absolutely the best way to organize communities to be wildfire prepared and to work at a community and individual home level,” said Beth Burnam, a volunteer regional coordinator with Firewise USA.
Ten years ago, Burnam conducted a “Home Ignition Zone Evaluation” at the Girmants’ home. Since then, the Girmants have installed metal rain gutters, covered their vents with 1/8-inch mesh to prevent embers from entering the home and even created a decorative fire break made of decomposed granite.
“There are a lot of things you can do, and it’s really hard to learn by yourself what to do, which is where Firewise steps in because it can help guide you and your community,” Burnam said.
“There was a wooden deck here before; now that has been removed, it’s all concrete,” Steven said.
They also regularly clear their brush, keep their propane tank away from the home and bring their patio furniture cushions inside on red flag days.
Nancy Nelms Girmant told KTLA that when the Palisades Fire crept close to their home in January, firefighters and other first responders used their home as a lookout point, in part because of its relative safety due to the work they’ve done.
“I think there’s this perception that your house is the lucky one if it survives, but they have science that shows it’s not a miracle house,” Nancy said. “It’s not luck all the time. If you can do something to make your house fire-hardened, why wouldn’t you do it?”
The National Fire Protection Agency created Firewise USA more than 20 years ago as an outreach and education program. In California, the NFPA works with Cal Fire to implement the program.
What does it take to be a Firewise community?
- Organize a small group of homeowners to lead the effort and map the boundaries of your community.
- Assess your community’s fire risk with the help of your local fire agency and create a three-year plan to improve your community’s resilience to wildfires.
- Take action, including educational outreach and one hour of work per year for every home in the community.
“If you get up on your roof and you clean your gutters, the time you spend doing that counts,” Burnam said. “If you put mesh on your vents, the money you spend and the time, that all counts.”
It’s all about the community effort.
“Herd immunity is a great image,” Burnam said. “Once one house ignites on fire, the fire now has moved from being a wildland fire to an urban fire. Then it’s a lot easier for that fire to move from house to house.”
In California, Firewise communities can be as small as eight homes and as large as 500 homes.
Another benefit of being part of a Firewise community is that California law requires insurance companies to offer discounts on fire insurance to homeowners who take specific steps to protect their homes and their communities from wildfires.
“The awareness of Firewise USA is growing by leaps and bounds,” said California Deputy Insurance Commissioner Michael Soller.
Soller said it’s all part of his agency’s “Safer from Wildfires” program that outlines 10 steps you can take to reduce the risk of wildfires, including being part of a Firewise community.
“And under this Safer from Wildfire regulation, every insurance company doing business in wildfire areas has to offer these discounts, so we have more than 50 companies that are now offering a discount if you are in a Firewise USA community.”
But being in a Firewise community is no guarantee your home will survive a disaster like the Palisades inferno.
“We were just ramping up,” said Ramsey Eldib, who helped create the Firewise community in the Rambla Pacifico neighborhood of Malibu. “In our little community, every house is gone on this road.”
Eldib estimates that at least half of the 125 homes in his Rambla Pacifico Firewise community burned down, despite steps they’d already taken to harden their homes and neighborhood.
Back in Topanga, Richard Brody is trying to avoid the same fate after the Palisades fire came dangerously close.
“It was the first time we wondered what life would be like without this house,” Brody said.
KTLA tagged along as Brody got a free evaluation of his 100-year-old home that sits in a forest of oak trees.
The Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains provides free Home Ignition Zone Evaluations in most areas of Los Angeles County.
Trained evaluator Dayana Doroteo outlined her recommendations, including sealing gaps under a wooden deck, more weather stripping around doors and clearing oak mulch from within 5 feet of his house and other structures.
“I would seal the gaps in the eaves,” Doroteo said. “His vents had the right mesh screening, which is really good – that’s the No. 1 thing that homeowners should focus on.”
For Brody, it’s all about small steps he can take before the next wildfire.
“I wouldn’t live anywhere else,” Brody said. “It’s the price we pay to live in paradise.”