By Gavin Boyle
Jonathan Scott, one half of the Property Brothers duo, is providing tips to those rebuilding after the devastating Palisade Fires, explaining how to construct homes that are more resistant to blazes in the future.
“The recovery efforts are so far ahead of schedule that people need to be organized,” Scott said. “[Don’t] build back with vented attics or vented crawl spaces, that’s how embers get into your home and starts the fire from the inside.”
The celebrity builder also noted that those rebuilding need to hold the construction to a higher standard to ensure they receive a new home that actually takes advantage of new technology.
“In reality, under today’s code, if people build back, it doesn’t resolve the three main ways peoples’ homes catch on fire. And these are simple, simple changes, simple fixes…” Scott told KTLA 5. “This is not the very first urban fire that has ever existed. We’ve been through this before, the science has proven what makes a home burn. No matter what, these communities that are being built back with today’s code will be built safer because today’s homes burn slower than homes from 100 years ago. So no matter what, it’s going to be safer.”
Along with the tip to create homes without vented attics and crawls spaces, Scott urges those rebuilding in the Palisades to reduce the amount of exposed wood, especially around exposed eaves, and to confirm that the house is being made with class A non-combustibles, which are materials that truly cannot catch fire.
Like many celebrities living in the LA area, Scott was personally affected by the fire. His fiance, Zooey Deschannel’s, childhood home was destroyed after standing for more than 40 years. Though the Deschannel family continues to lament it’s loss, Scott hopes to ease the pain by rebuilding the home for them.
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“In two weeks I’ll have the plans reworked and ready to go,” he told Entertainment Tonight in February.
The Palisade Fire was one of multiple fires in the LA area that broke out at the beginning of the year. In total, the fires displaced over 150,000 L.A. residents, destroying 11,000 homes and scorching 40,000 acres. The damage done amounted to over $30 billion in destruction. The community has since rallied and many studios and celebrities have committed tens of millions of dollars to the rebuild.
By contributing tips to make the rebuild more effective, Scott is adding to this initiative and helping ensure this type of destruction can never happen again.
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