Why Don't We Just Wrap Every House in Protective Foil? (and more realistic ways to protect your home in a wildfire)

Reader Q & A

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This question is quite relevant, seeing that this summer some residents in the path of the Caldor Fire did actually wrap their houses in protective foil. This isn’t aluminum foil, mind you, but the same stuff that fire shelters are made out of. If you don’t know what fire shelters are, they’re small pup tents that fold into heavy little bricks and all wildland firefighters must have one on their person while out in the field. When I worked as a firefighter we called them “shake n’ bakes.” They work sometimes, but definitely not all the time.

Fire shelter material can only withstand heat up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, which means that the material, composed of several layers, will come unglued past this temperature. Most extreme fire events surpass 500F but many firefighters have deployed shelters and walked away alive. Many have not.

What about structures, though?

A house wrapped during a wildfire, courtesy of Getty Images.

“Forest Service officials say they have been using the wraps for several years throughout the American West to protect sensitive structures. At Lake Tahoe, they have wrapped the Angora Ridge Lookout, a nationally registered historic fire lookout tower, said Phil Heitzke, an agency battalion chief.”

I have personal experience with wrapping cabins: when I worked in Alaska we wrapped historic cabins like this one as a last resort. The foil works, but it’s expensive. On average, a fire shelter, which is meant to fit a human, costs about $500. To wrap an entire house or cabin is upwards of $7000, only accessible to the super rich.

“Hirning said most of individual buyers he’s had over the years are looking to protect ‘really expensive cabins, really expensive homes, resorts, etc.’ They include homeowners on $5 million lots in Malibu, California, who are asked to sign an agreement that the Forest Service isn’t responsible for protecting their property in some cases.” (both quotes are from this piece)

Along with the cost of the foil itself, applying it can be tricky. All gaps need to be sealed and it needs to be firmly applied in the case of wind events, which come along with fires. It takes hours to apply, which may not work if a fire shifts direction. Hiring contractors is expensive, too. More thousands of dollars. And what to do with the wrap when it’s been used? Throw it in a landfill, which only contributes more to the declining health of our planet.

There are other things you can do to protect your home.

A few years ago I wrote this piece about creating a home environment that will be safer from damage from wildfires. The WUI (Wildland Urban Interface) is essentially everywhere now, and homes that haven’t implemented these protective measures often end up fueling active fires and adding to the destruction.

• Choose flame-resistant roofing material that interlocks tightly.

• Take topography into account. Local topography and how it may affect fire behavior should be noted in your housing documents. Protect your house accordingly, making sure to clear fuels around your home.

• Create an orb of protection around your home. Remove flammable trees like eucalyptus and replace them with more fire-resistant native plants (side-note, eucalyptus was planted in rich neighborhood in Cali in the sixties and is an incredibly flammable invasive species). Create a succulent garden and/or choose native plants (which are beautiful and easy to find wherever you are). Clear brush. Don’t allow plants to become overgrown.

• Maintain your house. See if there are grants in your area to help homeowners keep their house fireproof. If there aren’t, start a community group and advocate for them, because not everyone can afford to implement these measures.

• Make sure your house is airtight. That means assuring all vents are protected with the proper screens. Embers can and will enter a house through any small holes.

• Choose flame-resistant deck material and accoutrements. A wood deck will surely catch fire. I know, I know— aesthetics. But choosing aesthetics over safety won’t serve you.

• Make sure your windows are well insulated and heat-proof.

• Lastly, make sure you can easily leave your home in a hurry and set up an automatic sprinkler system for as much time as you can before an approaching fire. If embers land on wet surfaces, they’re less likely to ignite.

So, wrapping your house in foil? Probably not an option. But clearly there are lots of other options here. And if you’re shopping for a home, make sure to have someone assess its risk for wildfire, especially if you’re somewhere in the Wildland Urban Interface.

Have a question? Leave it in the comments section! I’ll be answering them as they come. No question too small or too weird!