Right now, we're going to learn more about Dixon Trail in Escondido. It is the first neighborhood in the US purpose built to resist wildfire, from ember resistant fence to noncombustible fences. KB Homes says they've constructed houses designed to survive the next big blaze. But with millions of Californians living in high risk zones, can this model be scaled up? And who will pay for it? Joining me now is Steve Rouffner, SVP of KB Homes. Hi, Steve, let's just
jump right in. Given that the homes in the Dixon Trail started over at about a million dollars, what strategies is KB Homes considering to make wildfire resistant housing more accessible and affordable for more Californians, especially those in high risk fire zones.
Yeah, so that's the reason we did this project was a kind of a research and development project to understand the costs associated with doing the IBHS program in a high fire zone. These homes are actually even though they're in like a million to a million one point fifty, they're actually at the medium price for a home in San Diego County.
And then, does KB Homes have any plan to replicate the wildfire resilient design there in Dixon Trail into other developments in California.
That's what we're using this project to figure out how we can do it. Obviously, we would only do this in a high fire zone, and when you look at the high fire zones in the state of California, those have grown with the new map.
Are there any insurance benefits to living in a community like Dixon Trail.
Yeah, So we're sharing this information with all the insurance companies IBHS and ourselves has been meeting with them to go over what the benefits of this program are and I'm sure it will benefit the customers in the long term. Currently, all of our customers that have closed are in s grow do have insurance, and that's a big plus in a high fire zone, so they are able to get insurance at a reasonable price.
About half of the sixty four homes in this Escondido neighborhood have been built, but they've already had their grand opening. This is also the first time that the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety has given their stamp of approval to an entire neighborhood. Joining me now to talk about why they give their seal of approval on an entire neighborhood. Is Ian Giamanco from IBHS.
Yeah, so the Dixon's Trail development from KB home is the first that meets our newest construction standard, which is our Wildfire Prepared Neighborhood standard. They have what's called the provisional designation in that space as the neighborhood is still being constructed, but the homes in that neighborhood have put together the best system that science can offer to make those homes more resistant to an approaching wildfire. So we
can start really at the roof system. They all have what's called the Class A roof, which is the most fire resistant material. They have non combustible wall cover, they have double pain tempered glass, and then all the way down to perhaps the kind of the piece that ties a lot of this system of fire resistance together. In the first five feet from their wall outward, they have a non combustible area, which is that last chain of
where fire can get to our homes. So that not only includes non combustible landscaping, but it also includes things like metal fences, so there's no combustible material that can ignite that directly. Touches the home in that five foot zone.
Would something like this make it easier for homeowners to get fire insurance.
So this is absolutely you know, with the insurance pressures we see in the California market, this is the path toward making sure you have the best chance for not only insurance accessibility, that you can get coverage. All the features of these homes also fall under the state of California is a safer Wildfire discount programs added incentives out there for homeowners.
Do these homes come with sort of a seal of approval, some kind of certification showing that their homes are made safer against wildfires.
To IBH just issues, each homeowner, as their homes are constructed and inspected, will get a Wildfire Prepared home designation. All these homes have our Plus level, which is the highest level of protection, so each homeowner will get that designation. All of those features that are associated with those homes do fall under the state's program that has incentives built in, and the neighborhood itself, once it is fully completed and inspected,
will get their full wildfire Prepared neighborhood designation. As I mentioned right now, it's provisional We've looked at the designs with Kade Holmes and made sure all those provisions were met, and so once that neighborhood's completed, each home owner not only will have their own designation for their home through the Wildfire Prepared Home program, the entire unity the Wildfire Prepared Neighborhood designation will exist there for everybody.
And Steve, thank you so much for your time. I think it's fair to say that these types of requirements may become standard in the future of home building in California. I'm Mother Brooker. Thanks for listening. You can listen to all of our shows on KFI on the iHeartRadio app.