“it turns out that saving a house … It’s more about lots of minor modifications and regular maintenance.”

“Scientists have learned more about how to keep homes safe from wildfires. During 2007’s Slide fire, firefighters decided conditions were too dangerous to defend this home in Running Springs, California.

When a wildfire swept through 2,000 acres in the hills north of San Diego, California, in May, it left behind a curious checkerboard of destruction. One neighborhood was reduced to ashes and twisted metal. But houses nearby suffered little more than scorched grass and singed trees.”

For an outdoor property, this article has some ideas that might be applicable to individual buildings or clusters of buildings. It also discusses the change in thinking about fires, such as “firebrands.”

Read the full article below.

by Warren Cornwall for National Geographic. and Photograph by Mark Thiessen, National Geographic Creative. Published July 30, 2014. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/07/140730-fire-science-fireproofing-wildfire-california/