Tucked in the southeast corner of British Columbia, Fernie is a small city surrounded by dramatic mountain peaks, a busy ski hill, and lush, dense forest.
Like many other regions in B.C., Fernie is known for its natural beauty, its tourist appeal, and its increasing vulnerability to forest fires.
"Wildfire-prone areas like Fernie are some of the most beautiful parts of Canada," said Dan Sandink, Senior Director of Resilience Programs at the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR).
"It's an incredible place to live and visit. But everyone has a role to play in making it more wildfire resilient."
Miller went back and forth with wildfire resilience experts, building science professionals, and the ICLR to figure out how he could implement their recommendations to develop practical standards for wildfire-resistant home construction – and avoid passing on additional costs to homebuyers.
Roofs can be made with asphalt, metal, clay, or composite rubber. Home siding can be fibre cement, brick, or stucco. All of these materials perform better in a wildfire than standard alternatives, he said.
"It’s simple enough to choose something like galvanized steel over plastic, but materials are only part of the picture" Miller said. "How it’s all detailed and installed within the building is what decides whether it performs well over the long term.”
For wildfire-resistant roof design, Big Block went with non-combustible fascia, flashing, venting, and soffits, while minimizing any gaps where embers could get in.
"That's where material specifications really matter," Miller said.
In Big Block’s case, it wasn’t about spending a lot more, since many wildfire-resistant measures were already standard practice.
“It might only come down to a handful of smaller materials and specific product details in critical locations,” Miller said. “It’s a relatively small cost to protect the entire structure. I’d encourage any builder in wildfire-prone areas to learn more and build to a better standard.”
Anyone who builds a home can ask for fire-resistant materials and practices to be used, Sandink said.
"If you ask your builder for these practices, they can apply them," he said. "The reason why builders don't commonly do this is because people don't know to ask for it."
How to help protect your home from a wildfire
During a wildfire, most homes are destroyed by flying sparks and embers landing on flammable surfaces, and not by a big wall of flames, according to Scott Robinson, Deputy Fire Chief for the city of Fernie.
Robinson said homeowners should follow these steps to help protect their homes from flying sparks and embers:
- Clean dry leaves, pine needles, and moss from roofs and gutters regularly
- Create a 1.5-metre strip consisting of non-combustible materials around the house (gravel, rock, concrete, or dirt)
- Bring patio furniture, cushions, doormats, and plastic planters indoors when there are active wildfire alerts in the region
- Mow the lawn regularly to a height of 10 centimetres
- Keep grass well hydrated – if water restrictions allow
- Store firewood and any other scrap lumber at least 10 metres away from the house
- Seal off the undersides of decks and balconies with fire-resistant screening so flying embers don't get trapped underneath them
The physical and emotional fallout of losing a home to a wildfire
When a wildfire destroys a home, insurance might cover the cost of replacing it, Sandink said. But the impact on your life extends beyond the loss of the structure.
"Even if you're fully insured for a disaster loss of your home, you're impacted in so many ways as you go through the recovery process," he said. "You're displaced. Your kids are out of school. You don't have access to your property. You may have lost all of your possessions."
In smaller cities or towns, homeowners might take their insurance payout and move away, Sandink said.
"In that case, the community changes forever."
Wildfire-resistant homes aren't the whole solution, but building more of them might help keep a community intact, he said.
"We still need to suppress fires with water bombers and fire fighters. But it's increasingly important that we protect our communities so that fires can move through the landscape and our homes don't burn down."