
NPR recently highlighted a unique program that’s changing the way homeowners, insurers, and communities prepare for climate risks. The state’s Strengthen Alabama Homes program helps homeowners retrofit houses with hurricane-resistant features like fortified roofs and reinforced structures.
The results? Since these changes were made, homes upgraded through the program significantly reduced damage and insurance claims from storms like Hurricane Sally have dropped by as much as 74%. That’s a powerful example of how proactive home protection translates into real savings and stronger communities.
Wildfire behaves differently than hurricanes, but the lesson is the same: when we harden structures, design for risk, and empower people with proactive tools, homes survive. Insurance systems stabilize. Communities stay intact.
Alabama’s success shows how effective policy, forward-thinking building practices, and science-based solutions can work together to shift outcomes—economically and ecologically. It’s not about fighting nature. It’s about adapting with it. For us, that means defending homes from ember ignition and building layered wildfire protection directly into the structure, backed by real-time monitoring, remote control, and ecological insight.
Here’s the takeaway: Wildfire resilience doesn’t have to wait for disaster to strike and it shouldn’t. What’s working in Alabama can work for fire-prone regions too. We’re ready.
See More in NPR’s Series: Climate Solutions Stories