Wildfire research “is still a very new science,” said Quarles. “This new report adds another layer of evidence that resilience is accessible and affordable.”
But he added the resistance to building codes in many rural communities is as much cultural as economic.
“There is, in some parts of the country, this desire not to be told how to build,” Quarles said. “It goes beyond how to build. It’s how to live your life.”
Steve Snezek, executive director of the Montana Building Industry Association, which represents home builders, said his members are constructing houses that are increasingly fire-resistant, even in the absence of codes requiring more stringent techniques.
“A lot of people that are building homes out in more rural areas are looking for a little bit more protection,” Snezek said in a phone interview. “The market is working.”
Still, Snezek agreed that people in Montana weren’t keen to have the government tell them what to do. “There’s certainly a live-and-let-live culture.”
This article provided by Bloomberg News.