Science Library
What Mattered Most For Structure Loss In The 2025 LA Fires?
Key Takeaway: Researchers found that building density, building size, and neighborhood layout was more important than vegetation in explaining why homes were destroyed during the Eaton and Palisades fires. The study also concludes that once these fires entered the neighborhoods, they behaved as urban fires, where burning buildings, embers, and radiant heat became the dominant drivers of destruction.
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Can Homes Ignite Other Homes?
⚠️ Industry Research (Not Peer-Reviewed)
Key Takeaway: IBHS found that once a wildfire enters a neighborhood, the distance between buildings becomes the most important factor influencing whether fire spreads from one home to another. Under extreme wind conditions, burning buildings can ignite neighboring buildings less than 40 feet apart — even buildings that meet modern fire hazard zone construction standards —, creating a domino effect that continues until weather conditions improve.
- Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety. (n.d.). Wind-Driven Building-to-Building Fire Spread
⚠️ Industry Research (Not Peer-Reviewed)
This research was conducted by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), a nonprofit research organization funded by the insurance industry. Unlike the peer-reviewed studies featured elsewhere in this library, this work has not undergone independent scientific peer review and should be interpreted with that limitation in mind. However, its findings are generally consistent with recent peer-reviewed research on the importance of building spacing during urban fires.