Home / Home Hardening
Beyond the Five FeetIs Home Hardening Required in Westlake Village?
Six upgrades, in a sensible order
Woolsey showed how far embers travel in 2018: homes can ignite from embers, not only from a flame front. Work the list top to bottom.
Ember-resistant vents
The cheapest life-of-the-house upgrade. Swap attic, crawlspace, and gable vents for listed ember-resistant models or 1/16 to 1/8 inch metal mesh.
Gutters and bird stops
Clean gutters, install metal gutter guards, and close roof-tile bird stops. Keeping roofs and gutters clear of leaves and needles is Required now under existing law.
Box open eaves
Open eaves trap rising embers. Soffiting them in is a standard retrofit on this city's 1960s-80s housing stock.
Dual panes facing open space
Single-pane glass fails first in radiant heat. Prioritize elevations facing the hills and greenbelt edges.
Deck boards and skirts
Enclose or screen under-deck spaces and keep the first five feet beneath them clear. Lakeside and slope-side decks first.
Door seals and weatherstrip
Embers slip under garage doors into the most flammable room on the parcel. Brush seals cost almost nothing.
The pre-season pass, Westlake Village edition
Every fall, before the first red flag warning: clear gutters and roof valleys, sweep leaf litter out of the 0-5 ft band, check vent screens, restock garage door seals, and walk the fence line where it meets the house.
Sign up once for LA County emergency alerts, and confirm your evacuation zone. In 2018 the evacuation order came overnight. Preparation you did in October is the only kind that counts in November.
Hardening questions, answered
What is the single highest-value hardening upgrade?
Ember-resistant vents. Embers entering attic and crawlspace vents can ignite a home from the inside. Retrofitting 1/16 to 1/8 inch metal mesh or listed ember-resistant vents is inexpensive relative to most other upgrades on this page.
Is home hardening required in Westlake Village?
Recommended now. As of September 19, 2026 there is no statewide Zone 0 regulation in force in California. As of September 19, 2026 we have not identified a local Zone 0 ordinance for Westlake Village. Existing law does require roofs and gutters to be kept clear of leaves and needles and branches within 10 feet of a chimney outlet to be removed. Vents, eaves, windows, and the rest are recommendations. Confirm with LA County Fire and the city before acting on any deadline.
Does Westlake Village's housing stock have known weak points?
Most of the city was built between the late 1960s and the 1980s, before ember-resistant construction standards. Original attic vents, wood shake accents, open eaves, and combustible gutters are common weak points on homes of that era, all fixable without touching the architecture.
Can hardening help with my insurance?
It may. California's Safer from Wildfires framework recognizes specific hardening and defensible space measures. Ask your carrier which measures it credits, and document everything you do.
Have a question about your property?
Send a request and the team will follow up by email.