By Michael Gardner – San Diego Union Tribune

SACRAMENTO – When the devastating Witch Creek Fire swept through San Diego County last fall, it took with it more than 1,000 homes and cost insurers $1 billion.

But some homes were left standing, from a solitary house in a burned-out subdivision to an entire development.

Why?

In part, the answer lies with homeowners who adopted fire-safe practices, from screening vents to keep out embers to replacing roofs with noncombustible material.

That was the conclusion reached by the Institute for Business and Home Safety – a research arm of the insurance industry – after a lengthy study of 3,000 homes to determine why certain properties survived the Witch Creek firestorm and what can be done to increase protection.

Julie Rochman, the institute’s executive director, said the goal is to provide state officials with sound research as they explore new policies toward the expansion of homes in wildland areas, which now number about five million statewide.

The report included interviews with homeowners and local officials, comparisons of flame-consumed neighborhoods and an analysis of various conditions, from weather to topography.

Importantly, the institute found that wind-blown embers can spark blazes a mile away. As a defense, the institute encourages homeowners to take steps to seal ember paths to attics, replace windows prone to breaking and store combustible materials far away from structures.

Also, homeowners need to be aware of the many potential torches, including seemingly harmless wood fences, bird nests, palm trees, playground sets and hanging plants.

“Those things ended up burning up the houses,” Rochman said.

Of particular note, no homes were lost in “shelter-in-place” communities that had adopted stringent fire safeguards as part of construction and maintenance codes. Those include residential fire sprinklers, boxed eaves, special roofs and a 100-foot clearing of defensible space.

“Not one, not a single house, in the shelter-in-place communities burned,” Rochman said.

The report included a poll of 400 residents that suggested homeowners shy away from prevention because of the potential price tag.

“Unfortunately, the majority of homeowners in the survey believed the most effective wildfire property protection measures are also the most expensive,” according to the report. “This appears to be the biggest stumbling block for convincing them to take action.”

Armed with the new research, the institute has developed a comprehensive checklist for homeowners to follow to minimize fire losses.

Some of the preventive steps are free or relatively inexpensive, such as moving wood that is stacked against the house, cleaning gutters, relocating trestles farther from the house and cutting back vegetation growing under vents and windows.

More expensive fire-prevention measures include installing a new roof, fire-safe deck, dual-pane windows and fire-resistant siding. Replacing wood fences and removing trees that touch homes also are in the recommendations.

The report revealed little new in terms of the need for homeowners to practice fire safety. But it reinforces those arguments with a thorough analysis of the results from an actual firestorm.

“It’s right on point,” said Dave Hillman, chief of law enforcement and fire prevention for Cal Fire. “It reflected everything our firefighters have known for a number of years.”

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