Playing with Fire

4.5 million homes are currently at the high or extremely high risk zone for fire.

By DaVinci Roofscapes.

From coast-to-coast, the number "1" is very important when it comes to wildfires. All it takes is one lightning strike, one smoldering ember from a campfire, or one dropped cigarette to spark disastrous results --- especially in drought-stricken states.

Even though drought conditions have decreased in California and other parts of the West, a new study from Verisk Insurance Solution that was recently reported in BUILDER magazine, shows that 4.5 million U.S. homes are currently in the high or extremely high risk zone for wildfire.

"Wildfires have scorched nearly 3.5 million acres so far in 2017, according to the National Interagency Fire Center," says Arindam Samanta, director of product management and innovation for Verisk Insurance Solutions. "For the first half of 2017, the number of acres burned by wildfires is up 34 percent over 2016 and the ten-year average."Homeowners in a wide range of states, from Washington to Oklahoma, and all states in between, are on edge this year --- and with good reason. As wildfires pop up, even if they occur several miles away from a home, sparks carried on the wind can land on roofs and start additional fires.

The 2017 wildfire potential statistics presented in the study are staggering:

• More than 2 million households in California are at high or extreme risk of wildfire, the highest in the U.S.
• Texas ranks second with 715,300 homes at high or extreme risk of wildfire.
• Montana (28%) and Idaho (26%) have the highest percentage of households at high or extreme risk of wildfire.
• Seven states have 13 percent or more of households at high or extreme risk of wildfire.

Some homeowners are resting easier though. California homeowner Dan Baer is one of them.

"More than 50 homes burned in our area during one wildfire," says Baer. "If the winds had been stronger, our home would have been included. Our old shake roof was a tinderbox waiting to ignite. Our new Bellaforté polymer tiles are rated Class A for fire retardance, which gives us tremendous peace-of-mind.”

When installed with the proper underlayments, composite slate and shake roofing tiles from DaVinci Roofscapes can attain the highest fire rating possible: Class A. This means the composite roofing products have undergone extensive fire testing using the ASTM E 108 test standard at the Class A level. These include:

• Intermittent Flame - an assembly of tiles is subjected to an intense flame with a strong air current for two minutes then turned off for two minutes. This procedure is repeated 15 times. After the final flame cycle the air current is continued and the assembly observed for an additional hour to look for failure.
• Spread of Flame - flame and air current are applied for 10 consecutive minutes and then observed until the flame deck recedes. Once the flame deck recedes the assembly is checked for maximum spread of flame.
• Burning Brand - a burning brand is placed on an assembly of roofing tiles with a high volume of wind behind it. The decking of the assembly is constantly monitored for 90 minutes to see if any fire burns through. If fire burns through the roof deck anytime during the 90-minute trial, the tiles fail.

Another concern for fire-area-prone residents are rising insurance rates. When he needed to re-roof his California home, Emilio Ricco discovered a big surprise from his insurance agency.

"Our insurance company basically told us to get rid of the original cedar shake roof or they would drop us," says Ricci. "We did some research and liked the functionality and long lifespan of the DaVinci synthetic shake roofing tiles. In our area, it was extremely important that the roofing tiles meet Class A for fire retardance. These synthetic shake shingles achieve that by meeting the ASTME E 108 fire test."

To see testing of the flame spread on composite shingles versus real cedar shakes, click here.