PERSONAL: As fire-resistant home survives, owners hope rebuild takes realistic look at disasters

Record ID: 1899954

  • Title: PERSONAL: As fire-resistant home survives, owners hope rebuild takes realistic look at disasters
  • Date: 14th January 2025
  • Summary: PACIFIC PALISADES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JANUARY 14, 2025)(REUTERS) BURNED TREE AND EXTERIOR OF THE SYCAMORE HOUSE BURNED CHIMNEY AND SATELITE DISH BURNED HOME NEXT DOOR TO THE SYCAMORE HOUSE SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JANUARY 14, 2025)(REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE)(English) ARCHITECT AND THE SYCAMORE HOUSE OWNER MICHAEL KOVAC, SAYING: “You know, we're not going to turn the climate ship around any time soon. So in the meantime, whether it's dealing with floods in the Southeast, or hurricanes, or wildfires in California, we have to be realistic about what the threats are and design accordingly.” (SOUNDBITE)(English) PEDIATRICIAN AND THE SYCAMORE HOUSE ONWER KARINA MAHER, SAYING: “And it shows how if we come together, I mean, this example of our community coming together, shows if we come together with all of our minds, put our minds together, we can come up with smarter solutions. So, like building houses that are more fire resilient and resilient to the impacts of disasters.” PACIFIC PALISADES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JANUARY 14, 2025)(REUTERS) DESTROYED HOME AND THE SYCAMORE HOUSE CHARRED HILLSIDE DESTROYED HOME AND LOS ANGELES SKYLINE
  • Embargoed: 28th January 2025 21:54
  • Keywords: LA fires LA wildfires Pacific Palisades Palisades Fire disasters fire resilient home fire resistant home
  • Location: PACIFIC PALISADES + SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • City: PACIFIC PALISADES + SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Disaster/Accidents,North America,Wildfires/Forest Fires
  • Reuters ID: LVA00B325614012025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Amid the ruin of charred homes and blackened hillsides left devastated by the Palisades Fire, stands a home that held out against the flames and smoke that blanketed northwest Los Angeles last week.
    Architect Michael Kovac prioritized sustainability and wildfire resilience when he designed the home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood. He has lived there with his wife, Dr. Karina Maher, since 2010.
    “Designing the house so close to nature and knowing the history of Southern California, we were acutely aware that at some point in the house's life, there would be a serious fire, you know, nearby at the very least,” Kovac told Reuters on Tuesday (January 14) at a hotel in Santa Monica.
    The Palisades Fire on the west edge of town has burned 23,713 acres (96 square km) since January 7. The fire is currently at 17% containment - a measurement of how much of the perimeter is under control.
    The fire is one of many to ravage the city in the past week, leaving at least 24 dead and an estimated 12,000 structures damaged or destroyed.
    Kovac and Maher - both avid environmentalists - fled their home when the fire started last Tuesday (January 7) and watched remotely as their security cameras captured the fire approaching their home.
    “It's like a million glowing fireflies in the worst possible way,” Kovac said, watching a video of embers blowing across their front yard.
    Eventually the power went out, leaving the fate of their home in the dark.
    “It wasn't completely unexpected,” said Maher, a pediatrician who specializes in the health impacts of climate change. “I think just the force, the ferocity, the strength of it was what was surprising.”
    As the fire spread elsewhere, clues came via the internet as to the status of their home.
    Like many other residents affected by the fires, Kovac and Maher saw a photo online of a nearby neighbor’s destroyed home. But in the background, their home stood intact.
    “It really does look like an apocalypse or a war zone, with everything and ash and rubble and still fire smoldering and smoking and burning, and seeing our house standing there, there is a bit, I guess, of survivor's guilt, if you want to use that term,” Maher said. "We're proud and happy and that our efforts paid off. But we never imagined a scene so stark as this.”
    Some of the efforts that went into designing and building the home included a fire-resistant fiber cement, a planted roof, and sprinkler nozzles that spray out Phos-Chek fire retardant.
    In addition, they have worked on creating defensive space around their home, minimizing the amount of fuel that can burn easily when caught by embers.
    The firestorm could rank as the most devastating natural disaster in U.S. history. It is already the costliest wildfire in terms of insured losses, with recovery likely to cost billions of dollars.
    As that recovery begins, Kovac and Maher hope that society will take seriously the threats of climate change and extreme weather events and come up with smarter solutions.
    “We’re not going to turn the climate ship around any time soon. So in the meantime, whether it's dealing with floods in the Southeast, or hurricanes, or wildfires in California, we have to be realistic about what the threats are and design accordingly,” Kovac said.
    (Production: Monica Naime, Nathan Frandino, Matt M. McKnight)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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