Experts say that buildings that remained standing amid the widespread destruction of last month’s wildfires, as well as during previous fire disasters in California, can provide a template for mitigating a conflagration in which flames spread from structure to structure in an urban setting.

They recommend maintaining a buffer of at least the first five feet within the perimeter of the property surrounding a home. This zone zero buffer should be clear of all flammable vegetation, wooden fencing and debris.

In last month’s Palisades and Eaton fires, flames spread along privacy hedges and fences to neighboring properties, overwhelming firefighting resources, according to a report from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety. The goal of an ember-resistant zone is to sever connections between neighboring properties, lessening the chance of a home igniting, by depriving embers of material to burn against a structure.

“We definitely know from our research and post-fire analyses of defensible space that zone zero is the most critical,” said Steven Hawks, the institute’s senior director for wildfire.

Several local jurisdictions, including San Diego and Napa counties, the Orange County Fire Authority, Rancho Santa Fe, San Rafael, Santa Rosa and Laguna Beach, have zone zero ordinances in effect.

Stephen Miller, a law professor at Northern Illinois University who specializes in land use and sustainable development, told NBC News that minimizing development in high-risk areas has been an effective strategy in San Diego, which restricts homes from being built on steep hillsides with lots of brush.

Miller, who noted that wildfires travel faster uphill, also recommended a buffer zone between homes and wildland areas, which would be kept clear and contain nonflammable vegetation. Planting native species like succulents or sage on public land near residential communities can also reduce the risk that fires will spread, he said.

Palm trees, the postcard-perfect species that are ubiquitous in Southern California but not native to the area, pose a fire risk because they can ignite like candles. After the Woolsey Fire in 2018, Malibu in 2020 banned the planting of new palm trees.

Miller suggested that spacing homes further apart than the minimum of a few feet required by the Los Angeles fire code can lower the odds that embers travel from one house to another.

Plants used in landscaping should be spaced at least 15 feet apart and gravel, concrete and paved walkways should be used instead of mulch. Experts say construction materials including brick, stone and concrete reduce fire risk. Designers also are encouraging the installation of dual-pane windows and sprinkler systems inside the home.

The charred landscapes of destroyed neighborhoods in the L.A. wildfires were dotted with still-standing examples of structures that had been “fire-proofed” by using more metal in the construction or adding a concrete perimeter wall.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass both have issued executive orders mandating 30-day approval processes for wildfire rebuilding projects. However, cleaning up the debris from the catastrophe before rebuilding can begin with a lengthy process, The New York Times reported.

Homeowners who can’t afford to foot the bill for the costly removal of ash and debris from their charred property could rely on a federal program run by the Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA that could take up to 18 months to clear the sites, the report said.

The property owners will need to navigate red tape that includes submitting a right of entry form to the county, which completes a review process before granting access to the Army Corps, which then hires a contractor who makes contact with the owner for approval to survey the lot.