Despite the Destructive Wildfires in Los Angeles, Some Houses Remain Intact: Divine Intervention or Luck?

Despite the Destructive Wildfires in Los Angeles, Some Houses Remain Intact: Divine Intervention or Luck?

Los Angeles, USA — Images and videos of buildings consumed by the wildfires in Los Angeles have spread globally among architects, construction workers, and fire safety experts. While many homes were completely destroyed, some remained surprisingly untouched. For many, such as real estate agent Enrique Balcazar, it might seem that this devastation occurred randomly and without reason.

In his video, Enrique Balcazar shows himself standing on the classic Mustang car of a neighbor in the Altadena area, extinguishing the fire on his own house's roof. Despite the surrounding devastation, his house remained intact. Balcazar said, “It’s an old house, still with old wooden siding. I can’t find any scientific or logical reason why my house didn’t burn.”

However, experts say that “luck” indeed plays a role. Since the wind direction can quickly turn 180 degrees during a fire, your house might be safe while a neighbor’s house burns. But they also note that there are many ways to protect a house from fire.

Greg Faulkner, a member of Faulkner Architects, who has been working on fire-resistant house exterior designs for over 10 years, said, “There are about 50 ways a fire can burn your house down. If you eliminate half or three-quarters of those, it’s not just luck; your chances of success increase significantly.”

Faulkner noted that most experts no longer use wooden siding today. Where it is used, there must be a fire-resistant barrier, typically made of gypsum, which delays the fire's heat from reaching the interior of the house.

Stucco, a cement-based exterior material, is popular and fire-resistant for many homes. Experts point out that many of the homes that survived the fires in Los Angeles had stucco walls.

Windows also play a significant role in a house catching fire, as they accumulate a lot of heat. Experts say that double-pane windows help reduce heat from the fire.

Additionally, the roof is a vulnerable area where embers can land. Often, a simple roof design can help reduce the risk of fire.

Faulkner mentioned that some homes have fire-resistant shutters that close over the windows. Additionally, some houses are now being built with exterior sprinkler systems that spray water around the house to reduce fire risk.