Year-Round Inspections

Still, even fire-resistant homes become less safe over time, because individual residents make small decisions that collectively put the entire community at risk.

So Rancho Santa Fe has tried to change how residents think about fire.

In some neighborhoods, street parking isn’t allowed in front of homes, since it would impede fire trucks on narrow roads. It’s not a popular rule when people want to throw a party.

The fire district also strictly enforces state regulations governing weeds and brush. Californians in high fire-risk zones are required to manage vegetation within 100 feet of their homes, with the toughest requirements within 30 feet.

That area is known as “defensible space,” and meeting the requirements for maintaining it means clearing out dead leaves and brush, mowing weeds or grasses and establishing gaps between trees and shrubs.

Enforcement of these rules is lax in some parts of the state, but not in Rancho Santa Fe. The fire district checks around 29,000 properties for compliance annually.

“We have a couple of inspectors, that’s all they do is check weeds and hazards, and it’s year-round,” Cox said.

The fire district has even passed its own rules above and beyond the state’s. No palm, pine or cypress trees are allowed within 30 feet of a home, because they’re too flammable. Mulch cannot be applied within 12 inches of a house, since it easily catches fire. Next year, the district expects to extend the mulch-free zone to 5 feet.

If homeowners don't comply with the rules, the district will hire a contractor to clear the vegetation, and the homeowner will get the bill. If they don’t pay, a lien can be put on their home to recoup the cost.

Inspectors get a lot of pushback, Cox says.

“They get hammered every day until something happens, and then when something happens the people are really gracious,” he said.

Hardening Homes

Even if a community takes all these steps to protect itself, there are no guarantees. Cal Fire says wildfires are becoming more unpredictable. The 2018 Carr Fire created a fire tornado that lasted nearly an hour. And climate change is making fires more extreme.

“There’s no such thing as a truly fire-safe community,” Cox said. “They can be safer, but in the environment we live in, nothing’s truly safe, 100% safe.”

Some worry that having tougher codes will encourage the building of new housing developments in risky fire areas.

"The argument for their approval is that they will use materials, up to the latest fire-safe building codes, and that they'll have defensible space and great evacuation routes," said Alexandra Syphard, a fire scientist with SAGE Underwriters. "Many of the homes that burned in the recent years in California had all of those features, and they still burned because the fire was burning under unbelievable wind conditions."

Rancho Santa Fe’s fire programs also require financial resources, something that’s easier to come by in a higher-income community. The fire district is funded by local taxes on the town's multimillion dollar homes.

“Honestly, I get concerned ... the only people that will be able to afford to live in natural environments will be the very wealthy,” said Chris Dicus, professor of wildland fire at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. “They’ll be the ones who can afford getting through the planning process, the actual building, etc.”

Recent fires have shown that California’s wildfire building codes have helped save homes. But the vast majority of houses at risk from wildfire were built before the 2008 regulations were put in place.

“We have communities like Paradise all up and down the Sierras that were built a long time ago,” Dicus said. “So those homes are at extreme risk.”

Older homes can be retrofitted with fire-safe roofs or siding. Less expensive retrofits, such as covering attic vents with a fine mesh screen, can also make a difference.

This year, state lawmakers had been considering AB 38, a bill that would have created a $1 billion fund to help homeowners make these improvements with low-interest loans or rebates.

But after the money wasn’t included in the May revision of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s state budget, lawmakers removed the $1 billion amount. The legislation now creates the fund but without a specific number of dollars attached. It the bill passes, lawmakers will have to decide how much to fund it with in next year's budget.

“Hardening homes is profoundly important,” Newsom said in May. “I look forward to working with the Legislature to see if we can identify money along the lines of what we do for earthquake retrofitting.”

Dicus says that to really make California safer, everyone at risk from fire will have to work consistently to prevent it, whether it’s clearing vegetation, fixing homes or preparing evacuation plans.

“It’s not going to be easy, but if we want to enjoy the quality of life here in California,” he said, “we’re going to have to make that a decision as a society to do so.”