2 Key Strategies to Reduce Home Wildfire Risk
All areas of the United States are vulnerable to one or more natural hazards — storms, earthquakes, floods, wildfires — but tend to be at higher risk for one or two. Understanding which hazards are a higher risk in your location is the first step to being prepared; no one ever wants to be out of his or her home because of a natural disaster, especially during this current public health crisis.
Summer is approaching, which is peak wildfire season for some. In addition, some areas of the country are currently experiencing drought conditions, which will increase the risk of wildfire.
There are two main types of strategies builders, remodelers and home owners can employ to minimize potential impact from wildfires:
- Maintaining a defensible space around the home to keep a fire, and
- Selecting building envelope materials and using construction techniques that can make it harder for the home to catch fire.
Defensible space encompasses three zones around the home. The goal of this strategy is to reduce the chance that embers will “jump” to a home and limit the opportunity for a fire to ignite close to the home. Strategically spacing vegetation and maintaining it regularly lessens the chance of exposure to direct flames.

Graphic by disastersafety.org
- Zone 1: 0-5 feet from the building (and under the deck)
Goal: Create a noncombustible zone by using hardscapes and not planting vegetation directly next to the home - Zone 2: 5-30 feet from the building or to the property line
Goal: Locate and maintain vegetation to keep fire from climbing up and reaching the home - Zone 3: 30-100 feet from the building or to the property line
Goal: Strategically locate vegetation to slow down and reduce the energy of the fire.
- Using noncombustible roofing and gutter materials
- Covering walls with fire-resistant materials such as brick, stone or stucco
- Screening attic and underfloor vents to keep embers out but still allow airflow
- Boxing in open eaves to create a soffited eave
- Installing dual- or multi-pane tempered windows with screens
- Encasing stilts so there is no opening below the floor, balcony or deck
- Sealing the garage door with weather stripping to help reduce ember entry
Check out disastersafety.org for additional information on building and maintenance to reduce risk from wildfire. The International Code Council also publishes the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code, which communities desiring to address wildfire risks on a jurisdiction-wide scale can adopt.
To stay current on the high-performance residential building sector, follow NAHB’s Sustainability and Green Building team on Twitter.
Latest from NAHBNow
Aug 01, 2025
Meet at Home with Your Members of CongressNAHB members across the nation can build on the success of the June Legislative Conference by meeting with their lawmakers in their home districts in August to discuss key issues that affect the home building industry.
Jul 31, 2025
How Home Builders Beat the Labor Crunch with This Fast Financing PlanStruggling to secure labor can force builders to make tough decisions: Do you delay a project? Sacrifice profits? Or turn down new opportunities? But smart builders don’t just react — they adapt their financing strategy to meet labor challenges head-on.
Latest Economic News
Jul 31, 2025
Personal Income Rises 0.3% in JunePersonal income increased by 0.3% in June, following a 0.4% dip in May, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The gains in personal income were largely driven by higher wages and social benefits.
Jul 31, 2025
Housing Share of GDP: Second Quarter 2025Housing’s share of the economy registered 16.3% in the second quarter of 2025, according to the advance estimate of GDP produced by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. This reading is unchanged from a revised level of 16.3% in the first quarter and is the same as the share one year ago.
Jul 30, 2025
Fed Remains on Pause AgainAt the conclusion of its July meeting, the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee once again held the federal funds rate constant at a top rate of 4.5%. However, two members of the committee dissented from the decision (Fed Board Governors Waller and Bowman), the largest number of dissenting votes since 1993.