Laguna Beach fire officials lay out home-hardening steps, AB 38 disclosure process and local assistance

Laguna Beach fire officials on a city-hosted workshop described specific home-hardening steps homeowners can take to reduce wildfire risk and explained the state—s AB 38 inspection requirement for properties sold in very high fire hazard severity zones.

At the March workshop, Fire Marshal Robert Montagami said home hardening "basically is preparing your home for wildfire," and outlined measures meant to reduce three distinct wildfire threats to structures: direct flame, radiant heat and flying embers. "These embers . . . can particularly be destructive because they can travel up to a mile and ignite a home," Montagami said.

Montagami and other city staff emphasized simple, low-cost retrofits as starting points. They recommended replacing roofs with Class A materials; installing noncombustible gutter covers; fitting ember-resistant vents and spark arrestors on chimneys; sealing gaps between roof covering and sheathing; caulking exposed openings beneath decks and eaves with fire-resistant sealants; and replacing single-pane windows with multi-pane units to reduce heat transfer. "If you have…