California’s first wildfire-resilient neighborhood in Escondido

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAMIn response to California’s escalating wildfire threat, homebuilder KB Home has launched what it calls the first “wildfire-resilient” housing development in the state. Located in Escondido, just outside San Diego, the new community is designed to meet stringent standards that reduce the risk of destruction from wildfires.The 64-home development is the first of its kind to fully align with the wildfire resilience standards created by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), a nonprofit backed by property insurers.

These standards target the three main wildfire ignition threats: flying embers, radiant heat, and direct flame contact.Designed to withstand fire threats“This subdivision built by KB Home, it’s really the test bed to show this and demonstrate it,” said Roy Wright, CEO of IBHS. The homes feature a wide array of fire-resistant construction techniques, including covered gutters, enclosed eaves, and non-combustible sidings such as stucco and fiber cement.



Tempered-glass windows, non-combustible roofing and patios, and fire-resistant doors further enhance safety.Six-inch vertical clearances, achieved with a mix of concrete foundations, stucco, and stone, help keep flames from reaching combustible parts of the house. The landscaping strategy is equally deliberate: only low-combustible plants are used, and they are kept at least five feet from the home.

Metal fencing throughout the neighborhood helps eliminate another source of fuel.The spacing between homes has also been carefully planned. Each unit is at least 10 feet apart to reduce the risk of flames jumping from one structure to another.

From inspiration to implementationSteve Ruffner, regional general manager of KB Home’s coastal division, said the idea for the community emerged after attending a fire-resistant home demonstration at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference last summer. Though construction had already begun on the Escondido site, the company shifted gears rapidly to incorporate the fire-resilient features.“We had to change the architecture on the fly to a more stucco-oriented architecture with fire-resistant shutters, or fire-free shutters and doors and tempered windows,” Ruffner said.

“We were able to do that really quickly with the city because they wanted to work with us. They really understood that this was important for their city.”Ruffner described the project as a kind of pilot: “We’re trying to get the cost to a reasonable place because we really specialize in first-time buyers and first-time move-up buyers.

So we want to make sure we can get this in a good place where it’s affordable to do it, and it’s also got a good payback to the customer in a form of safety.”Demand and momentumRoughly 20 homes in the Escondido development have already been sold, and three families have moved in. Prices range from one million dollars to the low millions, typical for move-up buyers in the region.

As climate change continues to drive more intense drought and wildfire conditions across the American West, fire-resilient construction is gaining urgency. During the Palisades Fire earlier this year, homes specifically built to fire-resistant standards survived even as the surrounding neighborhood burned.But such examples have largely been one-off efforts from custom homebuilders.

What makes the Escondido development stand out is its scale. According to IBHS, KB Home is the first large production builder in the country to fully implement these wildfire-resilient standards across an entire subdivision.Wright expressed hope that this model will set a precedent for others.

“I know that KB Home already has two other projects here in Escondido, looking at duplexes and other kinds of town homes, and I do imagine that other builders are going to quickly follow suit,” he said. “They’re going to be building the homes that Californians want to buy.”Insurance and the future of resilient developmentWildfire resilience is not just about survival; it is also about insurability.

With many insurers retreating from California markets, homeowners are facing skyrocketing premiums or losing coverage entirely. Wright emphasized that fire-resilient construction can help reverse that trend.“Nothing is ever fireproof.

We’re always just seeking to try to narrow those paths of destruction,” he said. While the new homes offer significantly more protection, cities and homeowners must also rethink landscaping, elevation, and design to build true community resilience.With additional projects already in the works, KB Home’s approach may soon become the blueprint for future developments across fire-prone regions.

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