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Although it is not fire-resistant, the houses of Stephen and Nancy Gimant are close by on the hills of Topanga Valley.
“We just want everyone to know that you can do this as a homeowner,” Stephen told KTLA News. “We didn’t do this overnight. This has been over a decade.”
Girmants is part of what is known as the “Firewise” community. That is, they and sufficient neighbors of Topanga’s neighbours are taking steps to strengthen their homes and landscaping to reduce the risk of wildfires.
“So our example is we started five feet from home. The vegetation is not flammable,” explained Stephen. “When you move out of these five feet, there are some succulents. We call them Embercatchers.”
Stephen and Nancy Germanto explain how they created defensible spaces around their homes in Topanga Canyon. March 2025 (KTLA)
“Firewise has been around for over 20 years and is the best way to organize communities and work at the community and individual home level,” said Beth Burnam, Volunteer Regional Coordinator at Firewise USA.
Ten years ago, Burnham conducted a “Home Ignition Zone Evaluation” at Gymants’ home. Since then, Gymants has installed metal rain grooves, covering the vents with 1/8 inch mesh to prevent embers from entering the home, and creating decorative fires made of disassembled granite.
“There are so many things you can do. It’s really hard to learn for yourself what to do. It helps guide you and your community, so Firewise will step in,” says Burnam.
“We had a wooden deck here before, and now that this has been removed, it’s all concrete,” Stephen said.
They also regularly clean up the brushes, keep propane tanks away from the house, and bring patio furniture cushions with them on the Red Flag Day.
A view of ample defensive space around Stephen and Nancy Gimant’s home in Topanga Canyon. March 2025 (KTLA)
Nancy Nerms Germanto told KTLA that when the Palisade fire crept near her home in January, firefighters and other first responders used their home as a lookout for relative safety for the work they did.
“I think there’s this perception that your home is a lucky home if it survives, but they have the science to show that it’s not a miracle home,” Nancy said. “It’s not always luck. If you can do something to set your house on fire, why don’t you do it?”
The National Fire Protection Agency created Firewise USA over 20 years ago as an outreach and education program. In California, the NFPA is working with Cal Fire to implement the program.
What do you need to become a Firewise community?
Organize small groups of homeowners to lead efforts and map community boundaries. With the help of local fire agencies, assess community fire risks and develop a three-year plan to improve your community’s wildfire resilience. Take action in every home in your community, including education outreach and an hour of work per year.
“If you get up on the roof and clean the grooves, you have the time to spend doing that,” Burnham said. “Ventilation, if you put mesh at times when you spend money and time, everything is important.”
It’s all a community effort.
“The immunity of herds is a great image,” Burnham said. “When one house was fired, the fire was now moved from an outdoor fire to a city fire. And it’s much easier for that fire to move from home to home.”
In California, Firewise Communities can have 8 homes and 500 homes small.
Another benefit of being part of the Firewise community is that California law requires insurance companies to offer fire insurance discounts to homeowners who take certain steps to protect their homes and communities from wildfires.
On Friday, January 17th, 2025, facilities damaged by the Palisade fire can be seen from the coastline view of Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisade district (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
“Awareness for Firewise USA is growing dramatically,” said Michael Soler, Associate Insurance Secretary of California.
Soller said it is part of his agency’s “Safer From Wildfires” program that outlines the 10 steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of wildfires, including being part of the Firewise community.
“And under this safe from wildfire regulations, all insurers doing business in wildfire areas need to offer these discounts, so over 50 companies currently offer discounts if you’re in the Firewise USA community.”
However, being in the Firewise community does not guarantee that your home will survive disasters like Palisades Inferno.
Southern California wildfires in photo: what’s gone, what’s left?
“We were just ramping,” said Ramsey Eldib, who helped create the Firewise community in Malibu’s Rambla Pacifico area. “In our small community, all our homes went this path.”
Eldib estimates that at least half of the 125 homes in the Rambla Pacifico Firewise community have burned out.
Back in Topanga, Richard Brody tries to avoid the same fate after the Palisade fire gets dangerously close.
“It was the first time I ever wondered what life would look like without this house,” Brody said.
KTLA was tagged when Brody got a free rating of his 100-year-old home sitting in an oak tree forest.
Santa Monica Mountains Resource Conservation District offers a free Home Ignition Zone rating in most parts of Los Angeles County.
Trained assessment device Dayana Doroteo outlined her recommendations, including sealing gaps under wooden decks, peeling weather around doors, and cleaning oak mulch from within five feet of his home.
“I’ll seal the gaps in the eaves,” Dorotheo said. “He had a proper mesh screening in his vents, which is really good. That’s the biggest thing homeowners should focus on.”
For Brody, it’s all about the small steps he can take before the next wildfire.
“I don’t think I’m living anywhere else,” Brody said. “The price you pay to live in Paradise.”
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