
News Link • California
California Developer Builds First Neighborhood Where All the Homes Are Resistant to Wildfires
• https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org, By Andy CorbleyWith nothing flammable on the exterior or the roofs and curated desert foliage around the gardens and lawns, the homes aren't necessarily fireproof, but the design of the entire community was informed by identifying and eliminating the most common causes of homes catching fire.
Available now, and with some already off the market, KB Homes estimates their price at around $1 million, a price consistent with disaster-proof housing around the country.
The Eaton and Palisades fires struck with little warning and launched embers across highways and valleys setting multiple communities ablaze. The rising risk of wildfires in the rural areas of Southern California comes with rising insurance premiums, which result in rising rents, higher mortgages, etc.
In many cases, private insurers are declining to issue new policies for homes in areas at a high-risk for wildfires.
KB Home's Dixon Trail community in Escondido, California is designed to the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety's (IBHS) highest level of protection against direct flame contact, radiant heat, and embers, which helps to meaningfully reduce the likelihood of wildfire spread.
The Dixon Trail community will have 64 beautifully designed homes upon completion. It will receive a provisional neighborhood-level designation based on its design, confirming that the community has implemented preventative measures to reduce the likelihood of initial ignitions from an approaching wildfire, protect against embers that could spark spot fires, and slow fire spread if ignitions occur.
Research shows that these measures at the community level are key in preventing wildfires from becoming catastrophic. As a model of wildfire resiliency, Dixon Trail has incorporated research-backed mitigation actions into the design of its homesites, including the installation of Class A fire-rated roofs, noncombustible gutters, upgraded windows and doors, and ember and flame-resistant vents as well as the creation of a five-foot noncombustible buffer around structures.