Reader TTS

​Wildfires — and the havoc they create — are on the rise. ​ Fires are now common in many parts of the country, sweeping across hillsides, turning homes to ash and leaving lost lives behind.

While the threat of wildfires used to wax and wane, residents in fire-prone areas now need to stay vigilant throughout the year. ​ In 2023, 56,580 wildfires burned 2.7 million acres of land

nationally, according to the National Interagency Coordination Center annual report. The majority of structures that were destroyed were located in the Northern California geographic area. 

“There’s no longer a fire season,” says architect Don Ruthroff, founding principal at Design Story Spaces, who has served on the wildfire subcommittee of the California Building Industry

Association. “It’s now year-round. California keeps firefighting teams ready all year.”​ WAYS TO MINIMIZE DAMAGE​ Each year, the U.S. government spends about $2.5 billion on fire

suppression on federal lands alone (where a fifth of wildfires occur), according to the Congressional Budget Office. In California, for example, the Bay Area Council Economic Institute

estimates the 2020 wildfire season produced between $5 billion and $9 billion in destruction. The costs aren’t just financial — wildfires cause loss of business, negatively impact vegetation

and create poor air quality, increasing respiratory and health issues. ​ A warming climate and more people living in or near undeveloped wildland vegetation — known as the wildland urban

interface — is part of the problem. ​ While many wildfires occur in the western part of the United States — California and Alaska topped the list in 2023 — wildfires now pop up all over the

U.S, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. “We always need to be prepared for wildfires,” says Molly Mowery, executive director of the Community Wildfire Planning Center, based

in Colorado. “It’s a national and ongoing issue.” ​ Despite the dangers, Ruthroff, 62, who grew up in the San Fernando Valley and has seen his share of fires, says there are things

homeowners can do to minimize the damage. ​ After Bud Besch’s home in Santa Rosa, California, was turned to ash by the 2017 Tubbs Fire, the 98-year-old decided to rebuild his

Mediterranean-style house but with fire prevention in mind. With Ruthroff’s guidance, the new house was constructed with fire-resistant products, such as tempered windows, stucco walls,

fire-resistant attic ventilation, concrete S-tile roofing (the rounded, burnished red tiles typically seen on Mediterranean-style homes) and fire-resistant landscaping: decorative stones,

native species, low shrubs, bushes and evergreen ground cover.​ “I’m going to pray this is the end of fires in our beautiful subdivision,” Besch says. ​ Each town or municipality may have

its own rules regarding wildfire protection. A good way to find out how to make your home more fire resistant is to contact your state forest service, local fire department or planning

office, Mowery says. These agencies may even offer site-specific wildfire assessments about your unique home and landscaping, she says. ​ Another way to check your wildfire risk is through

RiskFactor.com, developed by First Street Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping people understand climate risk. ​