HEADLINES

what you do around your home makes a difference during a wildfire

 

 

Even well-watered plants burn. IBHS, Dec. 2025
New research by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) shows that vegetation within the first five feet of a home significantly increases heat exposure during a wildfire and can amplify damage, even when plants are well-watered. Read more.

The Chores that Decide if Your House Survives.  Nov. 28, 2025
Two houses, same street, same storm. One is wrecked. One is beat up but fine. Reporters talk about "luck" and "acts of God," but if you walk around with a clipboard and a flashlight, the difference often comes down to stupid, ordinary things:

  • Someone cleared the dead brush in the first five feet around their house.
  • Someone else stacked firewood and mulch against their siding.
  • One family paid to trim the big limb over the roof.
  • Their neighbor decided to "wait one more season."

Read more. 

Fire Experts Weigh in on Why Zone 0 is Important. Sept. 25. 2025

Wildfire season is no longer just a “season” in California. It’s year-round and high risk. And yet, amid smoke and ash, the debate over a five-foot buffer regulation around homes, dubbed “Zone Zero,” has reached a critical juncture.

Recent UC Berkeley and University of Maryland research confirms that clearing combustible materials within five feet of homes provides the single greatest reduction in structure loss during WUI fires.

What began as a straightforward, science-backed policy proposal is now weighed down by misinformation, anecdotes, and contradictory logic. However, at its core, the question remains simple: should combustible materials, including vegetation, be allowed within five feet of a home, the very area where most structures ignite during wildfires?  Read more. 

IBHS findings on LA County’s Palisades and Eaton Fires reinforce systems-based mitigation dramatically improves home outcomes during wildfires. Dec. 10, 2025 

The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) released findings today from its post-event investigation of the 2025 Los Angeles County Fires, illustrating the necessity of a systems-based approach to wildfire resilience. Using new quantified data, the report, The 2025 LA Conflagrations, shows homes were more likely to avoid damage in conflagration conditions when there was greater spacing and lower connective fuel density, including vegetation, allowing noncombustible building materials to perform as intended.
Read more.