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Protecting communities from wildfires, together

Wildfire Defense Mesh is on a mission to empower homeowners with the tools and resources to confront wildfire threats — and strengthen community resilience. Here’s how to get started in your neighborhood.

Protecting communities from wildfires, together

Wildfire Defense Mesh is on a mission to empower homeowners with the tools and resources to confront wildfire threats — and strengthen community resilience. Here’s how to get started in your neighborhood.

“We believe protecting neighborhoods from wildfire destruction is a shared responsibility. When communities band together to safeguard their families and homes, everyone benefits. Not one family, but all. That’s how we build community resilience.”
James Greer | CEO and Co-Founder, Wildfire Defense Mesh  
Wildfires can’t be fought alone
Wildfire threats are on the rise. More than 115 million people live in regions with high-risks of wildfire damage or destruction. That means it’s not a matter of if — but when — a wildfire will strike. 

When most people think about wildfires, they envision giant, leaping flames or a sweeping wildland firefront. While flames pose a grave threat to communities, 90% of home-to-home ignition starts with dangerous, flying embers. 

‍Think of wildfires as lighting a single match. Once the first stick catches fire, the flames can jump to the next and set the entire matchbook ablaze. 

That’s why home hardening is so critical. Sixty years of research has proven that a fire-adapted community is more resilient than a scattering of homes that have taken the steps to build defensible space.   

At Wildfire Defense Mesh, we’re equipping firewise groups and homeowners with the tools and resources they need to shield their communities from dangerous embers and flames — strengthening community resilience, together.
About Wildfire Defense Mesh
Research has consistently shown the role embers play in igniting homes in [wildfire-risk zones]. To  stem the tide of loss from wildfires, millions of  homes must be retrofitted to reduce the risk of  ignition.
Source: NFPA Outthink Wildfire Summit Report  Recommendations
Create a wildfire-prepared home and community
Dangerous wind-blown embers can travel up to five miles and work their ways into roof and foundation vents, gutters, decks, windows, doors, and more. One of the best ways to prevent embers from igniting destruction in your community is by building defensible space and hardening your home. Get started with these three simple steps. 
1. Build defensible space
Wildfire experts recommend creating a 0 to 5-foot ember-resistant zone around your home. This is a critical buffer that must be kept clear of combustible debris. In addition to regularly mowing lawns, raking leaves, and cleaning out gutters, homeowners should relocate combustible items such as furniture, toys and sports equipment, and trash and recycling bins away from the exterior of the home to prevent potential fire hazards.
2. Install ember-resistant mesh
Homeowners need to be aware of their ember-entry points. These are areas of the home that are vulnerable to ember ignition. Installing high-performance mesh screening, such as Wildfire Defense Mesh, can be used to retrofit vents, enclose decks, or frame windows and doors. These screens block embers, reduce radiant heat and diffuse direct flames.
3. Spread the word
Taking proactive steps to remove combustible materials from your property and installing ember-resistant mesh is a great start — but it takes a village to build community resilience. Once your home is protected, it’s crucial to share these home hardening tips and tools with your neighbors to effectively guard against wildfire destruction.
wildfire defenders
Join our Wildfire Defense Community Group
You don’t have to go at it alone. Join our Wildfire Defense Community Group to access exclusive resources to help you plan a neighborhood-wide wildfire resistance program. When you register as a project leader, we’ll send you a step-by-step guide on how to coordinate your project, connect with other neighborhood groups, and find installation support to protect your community from wildfire destruction.
Let's Get Started
Community Resources
>news
Build Show Network: Lessons from Two Surviving LA Fire Homes  
Matt Risinger from the Build Network offers important lessons learned from two homes that survived the recent LA fires. Watch the video. 
Customer stories

Mono City, CA

This Community Page and Estimator is exactly what we need! We (3 Firewise Community Coordinators) just met to discuss how to educate our community on installing mesh (not that we three have experience). We planned to send the links to your very helpful videos, but the Community Page sounds even more useful. We will definitely distribute the information to our community. Congratulations on this, and thanks from all of us!

‍

- Members of the Mono City Firewise Community & the Mono Basin Fire Safe Council

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Richmond, CA

The Community Program info is absolutely awesome! Well-phrased facts about community buy-in, not just single home installation. You could not have made it easier to understand everything - measuring the vents, deciding between a DIY job or needing a contractor, etc. and the videos are fantastic! Thank you for remembering me and sharing this!

‍

-Joyce F.

‍

Guard your community from wildfire threats
Wildfire Defense Mesh provides an affordable and trusted home hardening solution to defend against wildfire threats. Our ember-resistant mesh is proven to be 98% effective at stopping dangerous embers, reduces radiant heat by ~38%, and diffuses direct flame.
Learn More
Vent and Mesh Retrofit Estimator

Once you have joined the WDM Community Group, you can use this estimator tool to help your community leader(s) determine how much mesh is needed for your community-wide mesh project.

Enter a Title of either Resident, Project Leader, or Other. For the Community field, you should see the community name you used when you joined the WDM community group.

Protecting Your Community

Welcome to our community page, we are so glad you are here!

We've created this page to help facilitate community-wide home hardening and fire prevention projects. So, if you are looking for ways to help protect your whole neighborhood from wildfires, this is a great place to start.

Creating a wildfire-prepared home is easier than you think. It takes just a few basic steps, some Wildfire Defense Mesh, and a few common garden tools.

  • 1. Yard Maintenance & Defensible Space

    Mow the lawn and clean out the gutters regularly, and create a 5-foot barrier of defensible space free of combustible debris, including:

    • Furniture
    • Toys & sports equipment
    • Trash & recycling bins
  • 2. Wildfire Defense Mesh

    Create a community mesh program to help protect all the houses in your neighborhood with Wildfire Defense Mesh. It's a simple product used to cover vents and crawl spaces, and to wrap decks and perimeter fences.

  • 3. Stronger Together

    Get your neighbors involved! This is essential for creating community-wide protection, as the effectiveness of these measures increases exponentially with each home that takes them.

Affordable fire prevention

Wildfire Defense Mesh is surprisingly affordable, especially when cutting it out from large rolls to install on multiple houses in a neighborhood.

  • For an average-size house with two Gable Vents and six Foundation Vents, the cost is typically less than $100 when cutting from a 50' roll
  • A 50' roll of 8" width mesh can provide 40 pieces of 8" x 15" screen (foundation vents)
  • A 50' roll of 24" mesh can provide ~30 pieces of 24" x 19" screen (gable vents)

There may be funding assistance available to those in fire-prone locations. Check with your local fire authorities about what's available in your area.

Watch How it Works

Watch this short video to see how it all works, and how you and your neighbors can work together to help protect everyone on the block from wildfire devastation.

Planning your project

To help you plan a neighborhood-wide mesh screening program, we've created an online system where you can register your neighborhood and collect all the information needed about the houses involved. There's also an estimator tool to help you determine how much mesh you and your neighbors will need based on the number and sizes of screens there are.

  • Start planning your neighborhood-wide mesh project by joining our Wildfire Defense Community Group. Click the button below and complete the information to register your neighborhood. You can edit the information at any time, so just start with yourself as the project leader (this can also be edited later if roles change) and the neighbors that you know want to participate.

    ‍

    As soon as you have registered, you will receive a welcome email with additional information for how to coordinate your project, connect with other neighborhood groups on the same path to home hardening, and share stories, pictures, tips and high-fives.

    Join the WDM Community Group

  • Once you have joined the group, count and measure all the spaces needing mesh:  

    - Attic and foundation vents, gutters

    - Birdstops, weepholes, and crawlspaces

    - Deck skirting and perimeter fencing

    ‍

    Need help? Check out the videos below for instruction.

    Retrofitting Vents
    Enclosing Decks
    Installing Gutter Guards


  • Now that you've counted and measured all the ember-entry points, enter that information into the estimator form on your community group page and it will calculate a reasonable estimate for how many rolls and sizes of mesh are needed to complete the community mesh screening project.
    ‍

    Vent Retrofit Estimator
Installing your defense mesh

Installation is simple, and we have great instructional videos below for you DIY-ers.
If you would rather hire a professional, you can contact us here to request information on local installation experts in your area.

Find a Local Installer
Installation Videos and Resources
Retrofitting Vents
Enclosing Decks
Installing Gutter Guards
Customer stories

Mono City, CA

This Community Page and Estimator is exactly what we need! We (3 Firewise Community Coordinators) just met to discuss how to educate our community on installing mesh (not that we three have experience). We planned to send the links to your very helpful videos, but the Community Page sounds even more useful. We will definitely distribute the information to our community. Congratulations on this, and thanks from all of us!

‍

- Members of the Mono City Firewise Community & the Mono Basin Fire Safe Council

‍

Richmond, CA

The Community Program info is absolutely awesome! Well-phrased facts about community buy-in, not just single home installation. You could not have made it easier to understand everything - measuring the vents, deciding between a DIY job or needing a contractor, etc. and the videos are fantastic! Thank you for remembering me and sharing this!

‍

-Joyce F.

‍

Resources
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