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<v Speaker 1>Right now, we're going to learn more about Dixon Trail

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<v Speaker 1>in Escondido. It is the first neighborhood in the US

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<v Speaker 1>purpose built to resist wildfire, from ember resistant fence to

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<v Speaker 1>noncombustible fences. KB Homes says they've constructed houses designed to

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<v Speaker 1>survive the next big blaze. But with millions of Californians

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<v Speaker 1>living in high risk zones, can this model be scaled up?

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<v Speaker 1>And who will pay for it? Joining me now is

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<v Speaker 1>Steve Rouffner, SVP of KB Homes. Hi, Steve, let's just

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<v Speaker 1>jump right in. Given that the homes in the Dixon

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<v Speaker 1>Trail started over at about a million dollars, what strategies

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<v Speaker 1>is KB Homes considering to make wildfire resistant housing more

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<v Speaker 1>accessible and affordable for more Californians, especially those in high

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<v Speaker 1>risk fire zones.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so that's the reason we did this project was

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<v Speaker 2>a kind of a research and development project to understand

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<v Speaker 2>the costs associated with doing the IBHS program in a

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<v Speaker 2>high fire zone. These homes are actually even though they're

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<v Speaker 2>in like a million to a million one point fifty,

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<v Speaker 2>they're actually at the medium price for a home in

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<v Speaker 2>San Diego County.

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<v Speaker 1>And then, does KB Homes have any plan to replicate

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<v Speaker 1>the wildfire resilient design there in Dixon Trail into other

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<v Speaker 1>developments in California.

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<v Speaker 2>That's what we're using this project to figure out how

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<v Speaker 2>we can do it. Obviously, we would only do this

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<v Speaker 2>in a high fire zone, and when you look at

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<v Speaker 2>the high fire zones in the state of California, those

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<v Speaker 2>have grown with the new map.

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<v Speaker 1>Are there any insurance benefits to living in a community

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<v Speaker 1>like Dixon Trail.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, So we're sharing this information with all the insurance

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<v Speaker 2>companies IBHS and ourselves has been meeting with them to

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<v Speaker 2>go over what the benefits of this program are and

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<v Speaker 2>I'm sure it will benefit the customers in the long term. Currently,

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<v Speaker 2>all of our customers that have closed are in s

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<v Speaker 2>grow do have insurance, and that's a big plus in

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<v Speaker 2>a high fire zone, so they are able to get

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<v Speaker 2>insurance at a reasonable price.

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<v Speaker 1>About half of the sixty four homes in this Escondido

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<v Speaker 1>neighborhood have been built, but they've already had their grand opening.

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<v Speaker 1>This is also the first time that the Insurance Institute

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<v Speaker 1>for Business and Home Safety has given their stamp of

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<v Speaker 1>approval to an entire neighborhood. Joining me now to talk

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<v Speaker 1>about why they give their seal of approval on an

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<v Speaker 1>entire neighborhood. Is Ian Giamanco from IBHS.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, so the Dixon's Trail development from KB home is

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<v Speaker 3>the first that meets our newest construction standard, which is

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<v Speaker 3>our Wildfire Prepared Neighborhood standard. They have what's called the

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<v Speaker 3>provisional designation in that space as the neighborhood is still

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<v Speaker 3>being constructed, but the homes in that neighborhood have put

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<v Speaker 3>together the best system that science can offer to make

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<v Speaker 3>those homes more resistant to an approaching wildfire. So we

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<v Speaker 3>can start really at the roof system. They all have

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<v Speaker 3>what's called the Class A roof, which is the most

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<v Speaker 3>fire resistant material. They have non combustible wall cover, they

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<v Speaker 3>have double pain tempered glass, and then all the way

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<v Speaker 3>down to perhaps the kind of the piece that ties

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<v Speaker 3>a lot of this system of fire resistance together. In

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<v Speaker 3>the first five feet from their wall outward, they have

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<v Speaker 3>a non combustible area, which is that last chain of

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<v Speaker 3>where fire can get to our homes. So that not

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<v Speaker 3>only includes non combustible landscaping, but it also includes things

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<v Speaker 3>like metal fences, so there's no combustible material that can

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<v Speaker 3>ignite that directly. Touches the home in that five foot zone.

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<v Speaker 1>Would something like this make it easier for homeowners to

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<v Speaker 1>get fire insurance.

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<v Speaker 3>So this is absolutely you know, with the insurance pressures

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<v Speaker 3>we see in the California market, this is the path

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<v Speaker 3>toward making sure you have the best chance for not

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<v Speaker 3>only insurance accessibility, that you can get coverage. All the

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<v Speaker 3>features of these homes also fall under the state of

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<v Speaker 3>California is a safer Wildfire discount programs added incentives out

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<v Speaker 3>there for homeowners.

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<v Speaker 1>Do these homes come with sort of a seal of approval,

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<v Speaker 1>some kind of certification showing that their homes are made

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<v Speaker 1>safer against wildfires.

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<v Speaker 3>To IBH just issues, each homeowner, as their homes are

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<v Speaker 3>constructed and inspected, will get a Wildfire Prepared home designation.

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<v Speaker 3>All these homes have our Plus level, which is the

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<v Speaker 3>highest level of protection, so each homeowner will get that designation.

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<v Speaker 3>All of those features that are associated with those homes

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<v Speaker 3>do fall under the state's program that has incentives built in,

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<v Speaker 3>and the neighborhood itself, once it is fully completed and inspected,

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<v Speaker 3>will get their full wildfire Prepared neighborhood designation. As I

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<v Speaker 3>mentioned right now, it's provisional We've looked at the designs

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<v Speaker 3>with Kade Holmes and made sure all those provisions were met,

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<v Speaker 3>and so once that neighborhood's completed, each home owner not

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<v Speaker 3>only will have their own designation for their home through

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<v Speaker 3>the Wildfire Prepared Home program, the entire unity the Wildfire

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<v Speaker 3>Prepared Neighborhood designation will exist there for everybody.

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<v Speaker 1>And Steve, thank you so much for your time. I

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<v Speaker 1>think it's fair to say that these types of requirements

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<v Speaker 1>may become standard in the future of home building in California.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Mother Brooker. Thanks for listening. You can listen to

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<v Speaker 1>all of our shows on KFI on the iHeartRadio app.