Fire Damage Mitigation
By Gary Porter, FMP, RS, RRC, CPA January 2026
IBHS, the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety issued their final report in December 2025 on the California wildfires that occurred in January 2025.
While California’s unique climate patterns created conditions that favor wildfires—prolonged drought, dry fuels, high temperatures, and strong wind conditions, several factors contributed to the damage.
During the first eight days of January 2025, these conditions resulted in dozens of wildfire ignitions in California. Two of these ignitions in Los Angeles County grew into the Palisades and Eaton Fires which spread into nearby densely built suburban communities and became the second and third most destructive fires in California’s history.
The Palisades and Eaton Fires highlight the persistent vulnerability of the built environment when wildfire ignitions occur in close proximity to densely built suburban communities with receptive fuels, low relative humidity, and wind.
IBHS conducted a post-event damage investigation from January 13 to January 19, 2025, with support from partners at CAL FIRE. Parcel and neighborhood factors were also captured through detailed parcel-level survey data collecting more than 60 data fields at each location. Observations from this investigation identified the primary factors affecting structures in conflagration as (1) structure separation, (2) connective fuels, and (3) building materials:
Structure Separation: Maintaining adequate separation between buildings remains one of the most critical factors in determining whether a structure can withstand a wildfire. The investigation showed that each additional 10 ft of separation decreased the likelihood of damage by 7-13% up to 30 ft. Beyond 30 ft, the effect of additional separation leveled off.
For the first time, this study used the mean wind direction data available from local weather stations to examine the effect of wind direction on the exposure from an adjacent burning structure by structure separation distance. The findings demonstrated that there were differences in likelihood of damage based on wind direction and distance of separation between buildings.
Connective Fuels: Reducing combustible connective fuels between structures helps limit fire spread and ensures building materials serve as the last line of defense against ignition. Nearly all structures investigated by IBHS had some combustible fuels within five feet of the building and many had combustible fuels within thirty feet of the building. These combustible fuels greatly increased the chance of the building being damaged or destroyed.
The interesting observation was that In addition to vegetative fuels, there were commonly other materials and house-hold items that acted as connective fuels. Examples included trash bins, combustible decks, hot tubs, and pergolas adjacent to openings or other vulnerable building features. These everyday items turn to fuel for the fire and increase the likelihood of damage.
While combustible fences are a well-known connective fuel allowing a fire to spread to the structure, observations in LA repeatedly found vegetation growing along noncombustible fences that negated the resilient value of the noncombustible fence material. The investigations repeatedly showed a pattern where wildfires probe each connective fuel, one after another, to find a vulnerability. This means the only way to reduce vulnerabilities is that all pathways must be reduced or mitigated.
Building Materials: Most structures surveyed after the Eaton and Palisades Fires included at least one resilient building component. However, few incorporated a comprehensive resilient system allowing flames, radiant heat, and embers to exploit the remaining vulnerabilities—ultimately leading to damage and loss.
For example, noncombustible exterior wall cladding and Class A roof coverings were the most common resilient features observed. But these were often paired with vulnerable windows, doors, vents, and eaves which increased the vulnerability of the structure. When implemented as an integrated system, additional resilient features were observed to meaningfully reduce the likelihood of ignition.
Even under severe conflagration conditions, structures with four home-hardening characteristics had a 54% likelihood of experiencing no damage, regardless of separation distance. In contrast, structures with only one or two hardening characteristics had just a 36% probability of no damage. One recurring vulnerability across nearly all surveyed structures was the absence of 1/8-inch mesh on vents, which increases the potential for ember intrusion.
Where structural density cannot be reduced in suburban environments, the building materials and connective fuels become even more important. When resilience efforts focus on the system as a whole, the probability of avoiding damage rises. Extreme conditions can make it impossible to protect every building; yet a systems-based approach at both the parcel and neighborhood scale can still disrupt fire spread.
Condominium properties are inherently close together so paying attention to connective fuels and building materials become the focus of fire mitigation efforts. What can condominium properties do to mitigate their fire risk?
- Clean all debris from roofing, landscape areas and other common areas.
- Replace vent screens with 1/8” mesh.
- Check fire rating on windows and replace windows with higher fire rating if necessary
- Check fire rating on exterior doors and replace exterior doors with higher fire rating if necessary
- For high rise properties inspect fire doors to make sure they are operating properly
- When replacing roofing place an emphasis on fire rating of roofing material.
Gary Porter, FMP, RS, RRC, CPA is the CEO of Facilities Advisors International and has prepared reserve studies for associations since 1982. As a Facilities Management Professional (FMP) he has training in all phases of facilities management. As a valuation expert he has testified at trial more than 50 times. As a CPA he also focuses on the numbers. Gary is the author of seven books on financial aspects of community associations totaling nearly 5,000 pages and is also the author of more than 400 articles. He has been published or quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, The Practical Accountant, Common Ground, The Ledger Quarterly, Timesharing Today, Hawaii Building Trades, and The Florida Community Association Journal. Gary is a past president of CAI (1998) and was a founding member of the CAI California Channel Islands Chapter in 1979. 47 years as a CAI member. He resides in Las Vegas, NV. Facilities Advisors provides reserve study and maintenance planning services to associations nationwide.