KB Home announced Wednesday it is developing a neighborhood of fire-resistant homes in Escondido by using mitigation strategies to reduce wildfire risk.
The designs incorporate research by the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, and the completed homes will be certified as Wildfire Prepared Plus Homes by the institute.
The Dixon Trail neighborhood near Lake Wholford will comprise 64 homes and will receive a provisional neighborhood-level safety designation based on its implementation of preventative measures that reduce the likelihood spreading wildfires.
Specific preventative features of the Dixon Trail homes will include the installation of Class A fire-rated roofs, noncombustible gutters, upgraded windows and doors, and ember- and flame-resistant vents.
The community layout reduces the risk of wildfire through separating almost all structures by over 10 feet as well as the creation of other buffers and all-metal fence systems .
The homes currently available at Dixon Trail start at just over $1 million.
According to KB Home, once the neighborhood is completed and has passed a final evaluation, an official Wildfire Prepared Neighborhood designation will be issued.
“In keeping with our tradition of innovation, we are pleased to offer today’s buyers the ability to choose a wildfire-resilient home and community,” said Jeffrey Mezger, chairman and chief executive officer of KB Home.
“We are proud that our new Dixon Trail community, with its system of mitigation features, is the first in the nation to meet IBHS’s wildfire resilience standards at the homesite level and at the neighborhood level.”
