An image from a National Institute of Standards and Technology report showing the flammability of a fire-hardened exterior wall, left, and a non-hardened exterior wall. [Photo courtesy National Institute of Standards and Technology]
structures nearby and contribute to fire spread across the community by generating embers. Place them far away from other structures, from barns to homes,” says Maranghides. Establishing fuel breaks on a property is helpful in disrupting fire pathways. Fuel breaks can include portions of forest with brush and lower limbs of trees removed. Fuel breaks can also consist of roads, maintained rows of wine grape vines, waterways like creeks and grazed lands. “The fuel breaks eliminate the potential for direct flame and radiant heat ignition of structures. However, embers can fly over the fuel break and ignite additional fires on and near structures,” says Steve Hawks, senior director for wildfire for Insurance Institute for Business Home & Safety (IBHS) Research Center. Hawks served with Cal Fire from 1989 to 2022. He now helps conduct experiments for IBHS in Chester County, South Carolina. “Our work shows simple things make a difference, like storing pallets and boxes far away from structures. For windows, use dual pane tempered glass. Tempered glass provides a much higher level of heat resistance to protect against direct flames and radiant heat,” says Hawks. A business should be able to close and secure any ventilation systems on a roof. Also, an owner should not place combustibles around structures, particularly within the first five feet. This increases the risk of the buildings or walls catching on fire and exposing other structures to flames, radiant heat and embers. One of the issues Hawks saw in Napa County was large openings in structures that are vulnerable to embers. “Having a garage-style metal door that you can close very quickly reduces the risk of embers freely flying inside,” says Hawks. Business owners can hire a consultant to help with these tasks. Third parties can help educate staff and suggest improvements. Adam Iveson, co-founder of Ember Defense in Reno, has serviced several thousand clients in Marin, Napa and Sonoma counties since 2019. “We start by conducting an onsite evaluation and share tips for structure hardening and defensible space. We look at their vents, gutter guards and other entry points for embers intrusion, then provide options on how to mitigate those risks. We only recommend products like Vulcan Vents and FireStorm Gutter Guards we’ve vetted through our work,” says Iveson. Ember Defense has developed an “Ember-Certified” contractor network of professionals who can assist with product installation. In addition, the company offers “Guardian Wildfire Packages,” a concierge wildfire program that assists property owners with all
their wildfire needs, including understanding the insurance process. “In June 2024, we deployed our crews on-site for four days, switching out shifts and working with local agencies. This effort protected a Guardian Client's property in Healdsburg from being destroyed by the Point Fire,” says Iveson. Ember Defense uses drones and different software programs to assess fire risk. “Such tools cannot replace ‘boots on the ground,’ people who physically assess a property as a whole,” says Iveson. Iveson says the North Bay leads the state in understanding and working with vegetation. “This part of the state is light years ahead of other regions. Fire Safe Marin has been a leader in advocating wildfire safety and fuel management since the Oakland-Berkeley Hills fire in 1991. Yet, the North Bay needs to increase the amount of structure hardening. There are tens of thousands of structures that need better protection,” says Iveson. The California Farm Bureau is watching how the North Bay handles fires to apply lessons learned to other agricultural areas, says Peter Ansel, senior policy advocate for the California Farm Bureau. “What affects the agriculture business in the North Bay is the same as what’s happening statewide. The North Bay has so much wine grape cultivation that a lot of owners have made substantial investments in fire protection. We want to see what works, so our members can concentrate on farming,” says Ansel. He adds when agriculture business owners have to spend a considerable amount of time finding insurance and developing strategies to purchase it, this shifts their concentration away from farming. One of the changes that will help businesses and insurers going forward is the creation of rules that clarify what homeowners in high wildfire risk areas can have in a 5-foot area near their structures. This area is also called “zone zero.” The rules are currently being developed by the California Board of Forestry, which is part of the California Natural Resources Agency. “We are still in the pre-rulemaking phase of development on zone zero,” says Tony Andersen, deputy secretary for communications for the California Natural Resources Agency. “Board staff aims to have a draft proposal to present to the Board of Forestry as soon as is feasible, most likely in early 2025. Until then, we continue to evaluate options for phased implementation over time. We are weighing factors such as cost to property owners and the relationship between these regulations and those recently promulgated by the Department of Insurance,”
December 2024
NorthBaybiz 35
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