What Happens During a Wildfire Home Assessment

Before the visit

Useful preparation: note the age of the roof, any recent exterior work, whether an insurer has raised questions, and which sides of the home face slope or heavy vegetation.

The walkthrough

• A full perimeter walk documenting the first five feet on every elevation
• Vent inventory with type, location and mesh condition
• Roof, roof edge, valley, gutter and penetration review
• Eave, soffit, fascia and rafter tail inspection
• Siding, window, door and glazing review by elevation
• Deck, stair, patio cover and under-deck inspection
• Fence, gate and attachment tracing
• Slope, aspect, prevailing wind and adjacent fuel review
• Detached structures, woodpiles and stored materials

What you should receive

Expect written findings with photographs, organized by priority, and enough specificity that a contractor could quote from it. Vague summaries are difficult to act on and impossible to compare bids against.

After the assessment

The findings become the project scope. From there, homeowners typically address the highest-priority, lowest-cost items immediately and schedule the rest by trade and season.