Protecting Homes and Communities – Part 3: Navigating Wildfire Risk

Tags: Achievable Housing, CLT, Community Resilience, Cross-Laminated Timber, Defensible Space, Emergency Preparedness, Fire-Resistant Architecture, Fire-Resistant Construction, Fire-Resistant Housing, Forest Futures, Forest-Based Building Materials, Green Building Solutions, Home Hardening, Lunch and Learn, Mass Timber, Sierra Institute for Community and Environment, Sustainable Housing Solutions, Wildfire Resilience, Wildfire Risk Management, Wildfire Risk Solutions

This blog is part of a three-part series breaking down steps you can take to protect your home before and during wildfire season. 

• Part I: Building Community Resilience
• Part II: The Future is Fire Resistant

Protecting Homes and Communities: A Lunch & Learn on Wildfire Risk Housing Solutions

With wildfire risks on the rise, now is the time to figure out solutions for protecting homes in our communities. The Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation (TTCF) is excited to host an Achievable Housing in Action Lunch & Learn event on Friday, May 16th, 2025 in partnership with TTCF’s Forest Futures program. 

This special collaborative Lunch & Learn focused on what you can do to harden your home against wildfires – and about some of the bigger conversations unfolding around innovative housing materials and insurance programs that can help address the growing wildfire challenge. 

This virtual event will bring together experts from across the community to share practical steps and emerging solutions that can help safeguard homes and communities from wildfire threats.

Presenters include: 

• Eric Horntvedt, Wildfire Prevention Manager at the Truckee Fire Protection District 
• Jonathan Kusel, Executive Director of the Sierra Institute for Community and Environment
• Ryan Valdez, Managing Director of RockRose Risk. 

Navigating Wildfire Risk: Ryan Valdez, Managing Director, RockRose Risk

Fire insurance in California has become increasingly expensive due to the growing risk of wildfires. Insurers assess areas based on factors such as past claims, fire severity, and access to firefighting resources. In high-risk wildfire zones, premiums often skyrocket or insurers may stop offering coverage altogether, leaving homeowners with limited and costly options.

As a result, many homeowners are struggling to secure fire insurance, with several insurers halting new policies in these high-risk areas after experiencing repeated wildfire losses. Some homeowners also face non-renewals as companies attempt to limit their financial expenditure. 

As a leading expert in wildfire risk management and insurance, Ryan Valdez brings crucial knowledge to homeowners seeking to insure their properties in areas at high risk for wildfire With years of experience in the insurance industry, Valdez has posed himself to address emerging threat for “uninsurable” communities with his new firm, RockRose Risk. This firm specializes in helping individuals mitigate wildfire risk in order to get insured for less.

Through his work in the insurance world, Valdez understands the stark limitations of the traditional insurance model and is forging creative solutions for what insurance could look like in communities prone to wildfire. His expertise is particularly important as wildfire threats become more frequent and unpredictable, making the need for comprehensive insurance more critical than ever.

Equip and Protect: Essential Education for Safeguarding Homes

This collaborative Lunch and Learn is an excellent opportunity for community members to learn about both proactive steps for wildfire resilience – and emerging solutions in building materials and insurance. Whether you’re a homeowner looking to make your property safer or interested in learning more about cutting-edge solutions coming down the pipeline, this event will spark thinking about how we can better prepare for a future of growing wildfire risk.

Following presentations from our housing and wildfire risk expert. There will be a Q&A session to follow where attendees can ask questions and gain further insights into solutions for home hardening, fire-resistant construction, and wildfire risk insurance. Register now. 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. (Calendar Invite to Follow)

Event Details:

• Topic: Home Hardening, Insurance, and Wildfire Risk Housing Solutions
• Date & Time: Friday, May 16, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
• Location: Virtual on Zoom
• Registration: Click here to register

Previous in Series:

Part I: Building Community Resilience

Part II: The Future is Fire Resistant