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apiyesterday at 1:35 PM2 repliesview on HN

There were houses that survived recent wildfires because they were built to be in a fire zone and survive fires. I’m sure there was damage but nowhere near total loss.

I’m sure when homes are rebuilt the majority will not be fire resistant.

It’s possible to build for hurricanes and floods too but few do it. They build houses that get blown away and then tap insurance.

Insurance rates for properties not built to withstand the stresses of their environment will go up.


Replies

briffleyesterday at 3:26 PM

we had a huge wildfire in my area in 2021 that burned through a few small towns. In one town, the only houses that survived where the ones that followed the guides out there for creating defensible space. They were also newer homes, which is obviously easier then retro-fitting an existing home, but the town got rebuilt essentially the same as it was, which is kind of sad to see.

https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_mars...

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lern_too_spelyesterday at 7:15 PM

> I’m sure when homes are rebuilt the majority will not be fire resistant

They are required to be: https://heatmap.news/climate/california-wildfire-building-co...

The problem is that in many desirable places to live in California, many houses are very old and are not compliant with the latest building codes.