What is home hardening?  

Home hardening addresses the most vulnerable components of your house with building materials and installation techniques that increase resistance to heat, flames, and embers that accompany most wildfires.

NCO has partnered with California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), and the County of Lake for the Lake County Home Hardening Program. You can learn more about this partnership on the California Wildfire Mitigation Program website.

The program has committed to implementing home hardening measures for residential homes within the Kelseyville Riviera Community Association over the next 2-year period.

The program will provide defensible space and home hardening retrofit measures to hundreds of residence.  With nearly 1,500 homes prequalified within the specified area, the emphasis of the initiative is on implementing a targeted wildfire cluster resilience strategy. 

 
Lake County homes eligible for this program must be within the jurisdiction of the Kelseyville Riveria Community Association. Homes outside this jurisdiction are not currently eligible. The program will offer Riveria homeowners the opportunity to retrofit, harden, and create defensible space while targeting low-to-moderate income households. 

 The Lake County Home Hardening Initiative is currently in the mid-stages of development and will begin to open applications in a phased approach in the near future.

Why was the Kelseyville Riviera Community Selected?

Lake County was selected as a pilot community by Cal OES and CAL FIRE after conducting a statewide analysis including fire risk, climate change risk factors and census data.  In December 2021, a group of representatives from Cal OES and CAL FIRE visited Lake County. They joined county and NCO representatives for a field visit. Several Lake County neighborhoods were toured and evaluated, and Kelseyville Riviera was deemed the best fit for this pilot project because it met key criteria:

1. The housing density in the Riviera is optimal for achieving the “cluster” resiliency strategy we need to achieve. When one home is hardened against wildfire, all surrounding properties benefit. Hardening homes in close proximity to one another is key to maximizing the benefits of hardening efforts.

2. The population in the Riviera will better meet the low-to-moderate income threshold required for this program. At least 70% of approved homesites must be at or below moderate income.

3. Homes in this area are more likely to meet the types of retrofit measures the program will support.  Most of the homes in this neighborhood were constructed within a relatively narrow timeframe, meaning upgrades should be similar across properties. 

4. Strong homeowner participation is anticipated due to the ongoing work of the Kelseyville Riviera Community Association and their current focus on defensible space requirements for residents.

5. This area of Lake County is one of the few areas that has not experienced past wildfires, which makes it highly vulnerable. 

6. As the framework for this pilot program is developed, we are hopeful to leverage additional funding and expand this project to other areas within the county in the future. See below for current project area map!

To be placed on our interested homeowners list you may email: homehardening@ncoinc.org or simply give us a call at: (707) 461-0760.