In January 2025, a wildfire driven by strong winds destroyed thousands of buildings in Los Angeles. In the neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, whole streets burned. Yet on one of those streets, a newly built house was left standing. Why did it survive when its neighbors did not?
The answer begins with how houses usually catch fire. It is easy to imagine a wall of flame moving from one building to the next, but many homes lost to wildfire are ignited by embers, the small burning pieces that the wind carries ahead of the fire. Embers can travel a mile or more. After a California fire in 2007, a government study found that about two in three of the destroyed homes had been set alight by them. Embers often enter through attic vents and burn a house from the inside.
The house in Pacific Palisades gave embers few places to enter or settle. It had no attic vents and no overhanging roof edges. Its roof was metal, laid over a fire-resistant layer, and its windows were made of tempered glass, which withstands heat better than ordinary glass. Around the walls, a border of gravel and low plants left little to burn.
The architect was careful not to claim too much. The design had helped, but the house had also been lucky.
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