Choose Durability

Southern California has been ravaged by the state's largest ever wildfires. The fires have destroyed nearly 3,600 homes in Southern California counties. As residents begin to rebuild their communities, some valuable lessons in home fire-resistance have been learned after investigating the aftermath.

The historic Southern California town of Julian was evacuated on November 4 as wildfires threatened the town. Due to the actions of San Diego County firefighters, the community as a whole was saved but over 600 homes were lost. Julian resident Bruce Krtek's neighborhood was decimated by the fires, but his house remained intact, a result he credits to the fiber-cement exterior siding installed on his home.

"People driving through our neighborhood are amazed to see this big yellow house standing amongst the rubble," said Krtek. "Our fiber-cement siding protected the structure through five days of the wildfires. On the back of the garage the heat was so intense that the vinyl rain gutters and door frames melted, but the fiber-cement siding did not even require repainting. Everyone that has seen the house plans to rebuild with fiber-cement."

Fiber-cement siding was invented by James Hardie over twenty years ago and was introduced in the U.S. in the early 90s. Its proprietary formulation of Portland cement, finely ground sand and natural fibers give it the durability to resist damage from fire, as well as severe wind, termites and moisture. James Hardie is the leading manufacturer of fiber-cement products that now protects more than 3.5 million homes in the U.S.

The fire resistance of fiber-cement has been proven from past real-world situations. The siding material is included on the Colorado State Forest Service's list of recommended building products, which excludes vinyl.

To aid in the rebuilding of homes in Southern California, James Hardie has pledged a bulk donation of its building products to the California Office of Emergency Services.