Watch CBS News

Residents in Palisades Fire zone share fire-hardened features of their homes, still standing

Fire hardened homes in the Palisades Fire area
Fire hardened homes in the Palisades Fire area 04:58

Stories of survival are emerging in the aftermath of the Palisades and Eaton Canyon fires — from people who are amazed to find out their homes survived. 

In some cases, it was pure luck whichever way the wind blew. But in others, homeowners believe they were spared because of steps they took long before the flames erupted. Some of those steps began with how the home was built.

palisades-homes.png
Homeowners affected by the Palisades Fire are taking away lessons on how to rebuild from homes that are still standing.  KCAL News

The houses that remain stand out amidst the devastation in Pacific Palisades and Altadena. Kelly Kline's home in Malibu wasn't one of them. 

"No firemen even showed up at all," Kline said. "There's no firemen, there's no help, so these houses were just sacrificed."

But right next door to Kline's home, his neighbor's is still standing.

"It's like a green oasis in the middle of a warzone," said Harry Statter, the founder of Frontline Wildfire Defense System.

Frontline is one of the growing number of companies that will install a sophisticated sprinkler setup on your home.

In 2023, CBS News Los Angeles first reported that Frontline has an app that can deploy sprinklers and fire retardant even if you're not home.

"If the customer enables that, our software platform will detect fire relative to the location of your home, it'll also detect wind gusts and fuel conditions and it'll activate your system on your behalf," Statter said. "When embers land on those materials, whether it be patio furniture, front door mats, adjacent plant fuels, they're in a condition that's too wet to burn."

Starting at about $500 a month, the system is far from cheap but has gotten Kline's attention.

"Very surprised that any house could make it through that. I think absolutely have to build differently," Kline said. "I think everybody mostly who's going to rebuild will build with fire safety in mind definitely."

Nancy and James Evans designed their home in the hills above Malibu based on the trauma of losing their first one in the Old Topanga Fire of 1993. It consumed everything including the valuable artwork Jim had created over the course of his career.

"We have a cement floor all the way through this whole level. We have the slate, which is also in our bathrooms and our showers and things," Nancy said. "Then we have our beautiful metal fireplace."

Their architect framed the fortress entirely of steel. Every door is made of metal, and the very few pieces of wood inside are purely decorative. 

When the Palisades Fire roared into their neighborhood nearly every structure there was destroyed or damaged. The blaze burned up to the Evans' front door.

"Nothing defended this house. There was no water drops. There was nobody with a hose. This house just like sat here in the middle of this, surrounded by fire," Jim said.

Their home was essentially untouched.

 "There's a few places where the glass is cracked on a couple of windows, but by and large, it held up really, really well," said John Souza, the Evans' architect.

This time, the Evans' home and art survived but both their hearts are breaking for so many neighbors who have so much work ahead of them. 

"It's hard to imagine any man, woman, or child in Los Angeles right now that wasn't touched by this particular tragedy," Jim said. "This is like a hole in the soul of Los Angeles in a way that won't be healed for quite a while."

The Evans have two sons. One lost his home in the Eaton Fire and the other is still evacuated from the Palisades Fire, but he was one of the lucky few whose homes survived. 

View CBS News In
CBS News App
Chrome Safari
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.