Photo Credit: Gabe Border
Year after year, wildfires have become a more important factor in our lives, and this impacts how we think about building design. The industry has always prioritized safety and endurance, but the size of the fires has prompted me to make choices that can help prevent or mitigate damage. These considerations—both material and immaterial—can help in planning for the possibility of fire to create smart, enduring spaces, for individual homeowners and for the community.
Site-Specific Design For Fire Zones
If a property is adjacent to wilderness, it’s important to limit dense vegetation, and to manage understory growth and forest floor debris year-round to foster a healthy forest base when fire season arrives. Neighboring properties will have a direct effect on a structure during a wildfire, so working with neighbors can make a real difference. For example, it’s important to separate fuel sources like propane, gas, or other flammables from the structure itself. The same goes for thoughtful landscaping that reduces ignitable ground surfaces, like drier, smaller bushes, around a home. Installation of rotary sprinklers, which are able to soak around a structure, will maintain a level of moisture unwelcoming to embers.
Some communities and counties in fire country find it helpful to foster partnerships—from neighbors and community groups to county and national agencies. Well-managed steps, informed by data, with clear instructions, can lead to a coordinated effort that serves the region. Understanding the ingredients for fire informs utilities, too, of the steps they can take to address the fire before it happens. These site-specific data are the keys in reducing the very ignition of a fire. Where utilities consider miles of terrain, neighbors can evaluate and act on their adjacent properties, and work through their neighborhood and community groups to engage in larger regional discussions.