"As California again delays controversial rules requiring homeowners in fire-prone areas to maintain a 5-foot ember-resistant zone around their houses, a new report finds that properties that were already close to that standard were much less likely to be destroyed in the devastating Los Angeles wildfires in January. With ashes still smoldering, researchers with the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, an industry-backed group, surveyed 252 homes that had been in the path of the blazes in Altadena and Pacific Palisades."
"The group determined that of homes with more than half of their 5-foot zone covered in vegetation or other combustible material, 27% were completely destroyed. That share fell to 9% for homes with flammable material covering less than a quarter of the zone. Roy Wright, chief executive of the institute, said the findings reveal that there are ways that we can narrow the pathways of destruction during climate-driven megafires and we should have faith and trust in those strategies."
California has delayed implementation of rules that would require homeowners in fire-prone areas to maintain a 5-foot ember-resistant zone around houses, pushing the regulatory work to March 2026 and potentially delaying mandates until mid-2029 or later. A survey of 252 homes in Altadena and Pacific Palisades found that homes with more than half of the 5-foot zone covered in vegetation or combustible material faced a 27% destruction rate, versus 9% for homes with less than a quarter covered. Homeowners raised concerns about removal costs and landscape changes, and consumer advocates worry insurers could use the rules to drop coverage.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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