- After wildfires destroyed more than 15,000 structures in California, builder KB Home is developing a community of fire-resilient homes to help homeowners weather any future disasters. The homes include details such as fire-rated roofs and buffer zones to prevent the spread of wildfire. Homes in the new Dixon Trail community outside of San Diego start at $1 million.
In the aftermath of the devastating Los Angeles wildfires, which destroyed more than 15,000 structures including many under-insured and uninsured homes, KB Home is developing a “fire-resilient” community to help homeowners avoid the next disaster.
The new Dixon Trail community in Escondido, Calif., just outside of San Diego, will include 64 homes that meet the stringent home and neighborhood-level wildfire resilience standards developed by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS).
The homes start at $1 million and can range into the low millions of dollars. The median price of a new home in Escondido is $743,000, according to Redfin.
The details that make the homes more resilient to wildfires include class A fire-rated roofs, noncombustible gutters and siding, windows with two panes of tempered-glass or fire-resistant glass blocks, and vents that are resistant to flame and embers, according to a company press release. The builder worked with the city of Escondido to adapt building codes in order to accommodate the fire-resilient changes.
To prevent the spread of fire, almost all structures are built 10 feet apart from each other, and each home includes a 5-foot noncombustible buffer around its perimeter where homeowners can’t plant anything.
Given the threat of wildfire in California and in the Escondido area, the company expects solid demand for the pioneering Dixon Trail homes, said Steve Ruffner, KB Home senior vice president of national contracts and studio supply chain.
“We want [our customers] to be able to save money and feel safe. And I think both of these can be accomplished. And so it’s exciting for us to be the first to do it,” he told Fortune.
The destructive January wildfires in the Altadena, Pacific Palisades, and Malibu neighborhoods surrounding Los Angeles highlighted the wildfire risk many California homes face. Economic losses from the fires are estimated at around $250 billion, according to AccuWeather, making the wildfires one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.
While the wildfires have subsided, the risk of disaster remains as the most recent fire risk map from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) shows that across Southern California, which includes the San Diego area, areas with a “very high fire hazard” have grown 26% to 817,212 acres since 2011.
In addition to the extra protection against wildfires, Dixon Trail homes may come with insurance and sustainability benefits, said Jacob Atalla, vice president of sustainability at KB Home, just as several insurers are reducing or eliminating their business in California.
“Potentially lowering the risk profile of these homes may result in lower home insurance premiums, and therefore continue with the affordability mission that we’ve been on for many years,” Atalla told Fortune.
Any learnings gathered from the development of the fire-resilient homes will also be shared with the California Building Industry Association (BIA) and IBHS to help builders improve fire safety for structures across the state, Ruffner said.
Already, one-third of the homes have sold, and two buyers have already moved in, Ruffner said. Another 30 homes are under construction, and all 64 homes should be completed in a year, he added.
