Rebuilding after a wildfire? Most states don't require fire-resistant materials

From the article:

[M]ost states don't require rebuilding with fire-resistant materials, an NPR analysis has found. While California has mandated wildfire building codes for more than a decade in high risk areas, other states have struggled to approve comprehensive rebuilding codes. In Oregon and Colorado, efforts faced stiff and ultimately successful opposition from home builders associations.

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For more than a decade, California has mandated special building codes for new homes built in risky fire zones, known as "wildland-urban interface codes." They specify that roofs, siding and windows must be fire-resistant. Even minor aspects of a house are important, like covering attic vents with fine mesh, which can prevent embers from being blown into the house.

Almost every home destroyed in California this year will need to meet the wildfire codes if rebuilt. The codes are no guarantee, because extreme fires can consume any kind of structure. But they greatly improve the odds.

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The cost of using wildfire-resistant materials became a central sticking point. The Oregon Home Builders Association testified that the new codes would add five percent to a home's price, potentially tens of thousands of dollars.

Those numbers didn't make sense to Sartain. He had surveyed Ashland home builders, who said, for a starter home, the added cost would be between roughly $1,200 and $1,700. A study by Headwaters Economics found fire-resistant homes can be cheaper than traditional homes, thanks in large part to using more affordable fiber-cement siding.

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So far, only the city of Medford has adopted the new wildfire codes. The city of Ashland and Deschutes County are currently considering adoption. None of the more than 5,400 structures destroyed across Oregon this year will be required to meet wildfire codes if they choose to rebuild.