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Researchers who studied structure loss in California wildfires from 2013 to 2018 found that enclosed eaves, vent screens and multi-pane windows have all been proven to prevent wind-born embers from penetrating a house. While sprinklers may not be able to stop an enormous wildfire, fire suppression systems can slow a fire’s progress.
“As we’ve seen in LA and with the Marshall fire and Camp fire and Lahaina fire, what truly characterizes the process of a home burning down, is largely the result of embers that fly miles ahead of that wildfire,” said Kimiko Barrett, a wildlife researcher at the non-profit Headwaters Economics. “They account for 90% of structural loss in a wildfire.”
California already has some of the strictest building rules, colloquially known as Chapter 7A, when it comes to new homes in high-risk fire regions and they’re designed to improve a house’s chance of survival. While regulations and building codes are effective, they don’t apply to homes built before 2008, when Chapter 7A was adopted. This means that even homes designed to withstand fire are vulnerable when wildfires spread to older homes nearby.
Houses made from chemically-treated synthetic materials, which have become common since the 1980s, are especially vulnerable since the home itself acts as fuel for a fire, as do the many petroleum-based products inside, ranging from furniture and carpet to appliances and electronics. Once they start to burn, the energy release becomes so intense that homes release radiant heat and in a high-wind scenario, propagate structure-to-structure spread.
[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/17/la-houses-survived-fire[/URL]
comrade stalin
california
