Lake County pilot hardens homes against wildfire; program seeks to expand after first-year results

North Coast Opportunities (NCO) presented an update to the Lake County Board of Supervisors on a state-backed home hardening pilot that retrofits houses to resist ember intrusion and other wildfire hazards.

The presentation was led by Diana Fernway, program manager for the Lake County Home Hardening Grama with North Coast Opportunities, with remarks from Jay Lopez, a development partner and speaker representing the California Wildfire Mitigation Program. Supervisor Pyska sponsored the agenda item.

The program matters because Lake County is a high-risk wildfire area and hardening homes reduces the risk of structure loss: presenters said more than 90% of homes lost in wildfires are attributed to ember intrusion rather than direct flame. "Wildfires are a solvable crisis," Fernway said, summarizing the program's approach.

NCO and the state program trace the effort to Assembly Bill 38 (2019), which led to creation of a California wildfire mitigation authority and a grant model that pairs state funding with FEMA match money for retrofits. Jay Lopez said the authority was created in 2021, the governing board formed in 2022, and Lake County became the first grantee in 2023.

How the pilot works

NCO is using a cluster strategy that concentrates retrofits in tight neighborhoods to build contiguous resilience. Its initial pilot area is the Kelseyville Riviera Association (KRC) neighborhood. NCO staff said they toured 11 communities before…