How to "Harden" your home
The cost doesn’t have to be extreme, and in any case may save you rebuilding your home.
The concept is pretty simple. If embers or fire cannot find anything to attach themselves to (extending ignition), then the embers will burn out and the fire will move on. That’s the principal idea behind home hardening.
As an extreme example, if you build a concrete home, and place a steel roof on it, with dual pane windows and shutters behind them, your home will be an unfriendly host for embers or flames. Of course most of us don’t live in a concrete home, but the idea behind home hardening is the same – reduce the ways in which embers or fire can invade your home, and the risk of it burning down will be reduced.
Bonus
If you take the steps to harden your home, you may be able to earn substantial discounts on insurance coverage.
What's Involved?
The amount of effort you put into hardening the structure you live in will depend on your ability and level of commitment. Some things, such as putting a Class A roof on your home, or replacing all of your windows with dual pane construction is expensive. But many things you can do are either very inexpensive, or within the realm of reasonable expense.
We’ve created a chart that outlines the key issues to consider when making a plan to harden your home.
CalFire has developed a terrific interactive description of the many steps you can take to harden your home. MySafe:LA can help your wildfire conscious HOA, Neighborhood Council, or ad hoc homeowners to understand the specific risks involves, and how to combat them. Check out our READY page and see a list of vendors who can help you with specific tasks.
