WHEREAS, California has crossed a tipping point in terms of wildfire destruction, with 10 of the 20 largest wildfires in California history occurring since 2020; and

WHEREAS, Wildfires are becoming more frequent and destructive due to the impacts of climate change; and

WHEREAS, Homeowners’ insurance has become more expensive and difficult to obtain throughout California, particularly in high-risk fire zones, and rates for homeowners’ insurance in California have increased by more than 43 percent between 2018 and 2023, inclusive; and

WHEREAS, Wildfires have caused damages estimated between $250 billion and $270 billion in 2025 alone; and

WHEREAS, Home hardening is the term used to describe the use of compliant building materials and practices to resist the intrusion of flames or embers projected by a wildland fire and of defensible space management that considers relationships between a home and its exposure to nearby combustible features, including, but not limited to, vegetation, vehicles, accessory buildings, and miscellaneous structures including fences and decks; and

WHEREAS, Home hardening measures include the use of fire-resistant materials for roofing, window coverings, sidings, fences, doors, and decks, the use of ember-resistant vent screens, gutter coverings, and well-sealed vents, windows, and doors to prevent ember entry, and ensuring combustible fuels are reduced around the home to create defensible space; and

WHEREAS, In “Fire Risk to Structures in California’s Wildland-Urban Interface,” a study published August 28, 2025, of post-fire investigations conducted between 2013 and 2022, inclusive, the authors developed a dataset of important features of the Tubbs, Camp, Glass, Kincade, and Thomas Fires for a computer-modeled examination of home hardening scenarios that suggests that comprehensive home hardening measures including, among other things, nonflammable siding, fine mesh over vents, double-paned windows, and a nonflammable roof result in a structure survival rate of 25 percent and that the structure survival rate for these hardened homes increases to 40 percent when coupled with clear defensible space in zone 0 (zero-five feet) and 48 percent when clear defensible space is extended into zone 1 (5-30 feet); and

WHEREAS, The month of September is recognized as National Preparedness Month by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Weather Service, and other agencies; now, therefore, be it