Link to ABC7 (Nov. 21, 2023) | “We always like to say, fires don’t cause wildfire burned down homes, it’s embers that do that,” said Ben Stapleton, the executive director of the U.S. Green Building Council Los Angeles, a nonprofit promoting sustainable and resilient buildings through education and community engagement.
“It really has to be about communities,” said Ben Stapleton from the U.S. Green Building Council Los Angeles. “Because, you know, if your neighbor’s house is going to catch on fire, that really increases the fire risk for your home.”
…”When we think about fire risk, we often think about these big expensive homes up in the mountains,” Stapleton said. “But that’s not the reality, in a lot of cases. And if you look at a lot of the fire risk areas, especially here in the Inland Empire, east of L.A., we’ve got a lot of communities that are disadvantaged, low-income communities that are in fire risk areas.”
Last year, the U.S. Green Building Council, with help from a CalFire Wildfire Prevention Grant, launched a certification program for contractors and landscapers around wildfire defense. (Read full article)
