Fireproof California’s Future

As climate change worsens and heat and drought increase, extreme wildfires have become more likely and more costly than ever before in California. Fires, which may start in wildlands, can spread into densely populated areas and then quickly move from home to home, resulting in conflagrations that can become devastating disasters. However, experts believe we can mitigate the risk to human communities and learn to live with fire through “home hardening”: a process of making a home and its surrounding property more resistant to wildfire damage with tactics like using fire-resistant material and construction techniques. Furthermore, investing in a home hardening sector will not only increase wildfire resilience but also bring economic benefits.

This issue brief summarizes the main findings from Earth Economics’ groundbreaking new report California’s Home Hardening Economy: Investing in a Resilient Future, which shows that a well-supported home hardening sector could have immense economic benefits for the state; for every dollar that California invests in a home hardening economy, the total economic activity returned would be about $1.70. Not only does home hardening provide significant economic benefits, but it can also lower the public costs of wildfire damage and increase safety for neighboring homes.

While California has taken many steps to respond to wildfires, home hardening remains largely underutilized and under-supported by policymakers. Supporting the new home hardening sector in California is a major opportunity—both for saving lives and for boosting California’s economy as a whole.