The new neighborhood resistant to KB Home forest fires in Escondido, California.
CNBC
Only a few months after forest fires destroyed thousands of houses in the Los Angeles area, based in California. KB Home He is revealing what he calls his first community “resistant to forest fires.”
The development, in hidden, on the outskirts of San Diego, will have 64 single -family houses when they are completed that comply with the standards of forest fire resilience developed by the Household and Security Insurance Institute (IBHS), a non -profit organization, scientific research and communication backed by property insurers. These standards are designed to protect the houses against the three main sources of ignition during a forest fire: flying embers, flames and radiant heat.
A handful of houses in development are now complete, with approximately 20 houses already sold. Three owners have moved, according to KB Home.
The houses are built with covered gutters, closed eaves, non -combustible coating, such as stucco and cement fiber, tempered glass windows and non -combustible patios, doors and roofs. They have a six -inch vertical authorization using the concrete base, stucco and stone. They also incorporate defensible space with low and fuel vegetation to at least 5 feet from the houses. Metal fencing is used throughout the neighborhood.
Steve Ruffner, regional general manager of the coastal division of KB Home, said that he and his colleagues saw a demonstration at IBHS fire resistant home at the Constructor Conference of the Pacific Coast last summer and were impressed by the opportunity for this type of community to present. Since KB Home had already broken in development, they had to change their gait quickly to incorporate fire -resistant components.
“We had to change the architecture on the march to a stucco -oriented architecture with fire -resistant blinds, or fire -free blinds and temperate doors and windows. We could do it very fast with the city, because they wanted to work with us. They really understood that this was important for their city,” said Ruffner.
It called it more a research and development project to see what costs could be and how to work with commercial partners to reduce that cost, although they would not say how much those costs increased.
The new neighborhood resistant to KB Home forest fires in Escondido, ca.
CNBC
The houses vary from $ 1 million to the low millions, which tend to be a move price in that area for single -family and separate houses.
“We are trying to obtain the cost in a reasonable place, because we really specialize in buyers for the first time and moving buyers for the first time. Therefore, we want to ensure that we can get this in a good place where it is affordable to do so and also has a good revenge to the client with a form of security,” he added.
As climate change causes a more severe drought in more areas of the country, the approach is changing fires and communities resistant to fire.
During the Palisades fire in January, some houses that had been built specifically for fire -resistant standards remained unharmed while everything around it was destroyed. However, these types of households are largely unique by personalized builders.
According to IBHS, there has been progress in California, but KB Home is the first major production builder in the country he has designed and is building 64 houses completely to meet the neighborhood standard prepared for forest fires.
Among the specifications, the houses are separated at 10 feet to help stop the progression of a fire.
The new neighborhood resistant to KB Home forest fires in Escondido, California.
CNBC
“This subdivision built by KB Home, is really the trial bed to show this and demonstrate it,” said Roy Wright, CEO of IBHS. “I know that KB Home already has two other projects here in hidden, watching duplex and other types of houses in the city, and I imagine that other builders will continue quickly.
Wright emphasized that part of the draw is not only to build a house that can be survived, but also one that is insurance. Insurance companies have retired from California in mass, leaving owners with very high costs and some without completely insurance.
Although houses are announced as fire resistant, that does not mean that they are completely free of risk. The owners and cities will have to make changes when it comes to non -combustible landscaping, elevations and even design. The real test will come in the future, if the community is in the line of a forest fire.
“Nothing is to insult. We are always trying to try to reduce those roads of destruction,” Wright said.
