No-Cost Home Wildfire Assessments

Reduce Your Risk by Hardening Your Home
The number one indicator of a structure’s survivability during a wildfire is how ember resistant their Zone 0 is, or the 5 feet perimeter around a home. A fire-hardened home is a home that’s taken smart steps ahead of time to prepare for wildfires and ember storms. A Home Wildfire Assessment (also known as a Home Hardening Assessment) from the VRFSC team can help you create an action plan unique to your home.
Know Your Risk
California’s Office of the State Fire Marshal has developed Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ) maps that are scientifically based on factors like fire history, existing and potential fuel, predicted flame length, embers, terrain, and fire weather.
Ventura County has a very high risk of wildfire – higher than 90% of counties in the US. Do you live in a Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ)? Find out now by visiting the State Fire Marshal’s FHSZ map. See how your community stacks up by visiting WilfireRisk.org.
Please note that while your home may not show up on the map, most people living in California are threatened by wildfire. These maps are scientifically based on factors like fire history, existing and potential fuel, predicted flame length, embers, terrain, and fire weather. For more information about the state’s FHSZ maps, visit the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
Your Home
Traditionally, there has been a focus on defensible space, which is the 5-100 feet of space around a home. However, research shows that a home’s ability to survive a wildfire is overwhelmingly dependent on if their Zone 0 is ember resistant (Zone 0 refers to the 5-foot perimeter closest to the home). With this new science, CAL FIRE has funded programs across the state to roll out home hardening programs including our own.