The Dixon Trail development will be the first entire neighborhood to receive the institute’s certification, according to a report from CalMatters.

In the wake of the January wildfires in Los Angeles County, which destroyed an estimated 13,000 structures, California’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) updated its state wildfire risk maps, adding a total of 1.4 million acres—including numerous developed areas and land bordering developments to its high and very high hazard zones, the most severe fire risk designations.

Retrofits to make existing homes in high-hazard areas resistant to wildfires, also known as “home hardening,” are costly. According to a 2024 report from the research group Headwater Economics, the cost to harden a two-story, 2,000-square-foot single-family home can exceed $100,000.

The January wildfires and Cal Fire’s updated fire risk maps are forcing California homeowners, planners, real estate agents and developers to change the way they think about disaster risk. Home hardening, previously thought of as a “luxury” expense, may need to become a standard feature of home ownership in the highest risk areas of the state, according to Yana Valachovic, a fire expert with the University of California.

Currently, the only state-funded home-hardening effort in the Golden State is a $117M pilot program known as the California Wildfire Mitigation Program, launched by the state legislature in 2109 and run jointly by Cal Fire and the governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

The pilot program aimed to fund half a dozen neighborhood-wide home-hardening retrofits. However, thus far, only 21 homes have been retrofitted, including 19 in the Lake County community of Kelseyville and two in Dulzura, east of San Diego, CalMatters reported.

According to the report, the state program has run into several unexpected complications, including the difficulty of sourcing fire-resistant materials in appropriate sizes. Both local contractors and permitting officials don’t always know much about mitigating fire risk, the report said. The work is subject to California’s rigorous environmental standards, which include waiting on “nest surveys” in the spring and summer months to ensure that construction doesn’t disturb migratory or endangered birds.

Each house in the retrofit program presents its own array of costly fire-resistant upgrades, including new roofs, siding, windows and decks, as well as the clearing of brush to create a five-foot buffer known as a “zero zone” around the house.

The cheapest retrofit in the pilot program so far has cost about $36,000, with the most expensive totaling $110,000. At current funding levels, the program is on track to harden about 2,000 homes.

The California Wildfire Mitigation Program is set to expire in 2029, as things stand. The state legislature is considering a bill to make it permanent, but funding is likely to be an issue. Most of the funding for California’s pilot program comes from FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grant’s, which have so far survived budget cuts to federal disaster preparedness initiatives.

Another bill moving through the legislature would create a state-run home hardening certification program as a way of inducing insurance companies to provide coverage to properties in high-risk areas.