Los Angeles wildfires spark interest in adobe, natural building materials

ALTADENA, California - Ms Marialyce Pedersen stood in a white Tyvek suit on her Altadena, California, lot levelled by January’s wildfires. Her house was reduced to ash that spilled into the pool, turning the water a toxic black. But along one wall, a sculpted pink bench and outdoor kitchen looked only slightly worse for wear.

Ms Pedersen built the bench and kitchen using cob, an adobe-like mix of decomposed granite or sand, clay and natural fibre, an ancient technique she says points to the future for her house and community.

“That is going to be the start of my rebuilding efforts. It is one little bright spot,” she said.

Los Angeles area fires have killed 27 people

and destroyed more than 15,000 homes and structures in January. They are still burning, and former home owners are starting to think about rebuilding. Those determined to stay want houses that the next fire will not burn easily and that, if burnt, will not turn soil, water and air into a toxic hazard.

Los Angeles County fire chief Anthony Marrone has been telling residents to prepare for the next time.

“We must manage the wildfire ecosystem, but we really need to start with structure hardening,” he said at a recent community meeting, referring to the process of building resilient homes.

Fans of natural building techniques, like the cob used by Ms Pedersen, see need and opportunity. Adobe bricks made of clay, sand and straw, similar to cob, have long been used in the south-west. More recently, hay bale houses have been constructed with walls made of insulating straw and a coating of fire-resistant plaster.

Ms Pedersen was one of about 40 people who joined a recent workshop on the eastern side of Los Angeles to brainstorm a way forward with so-called natural building techniques.

On the west side, near the Palisades fire, herbalist Marysia Miernowska, 41, started a petition that has received nearly 2,000 signatures calling for adoption of natural building techniques by government officials.

“A lot of people just feel it’s inherently insane to just rebuild the same way,” said Ms Miernowska.

She wants to change the idea of a beautiful home from one made of exotic woods and materials to one that is affordable and made from earth. She also sees natural building techniques as working for people who want modern-looking homes.

“It doesn’t have to be a hippy hobbit house,” she said.

Land of quakes, firestorms

Los Angeles County has a reputation among natural builders of being cautious, given the risks of a region plagued by earthquakes as well as firestorms. But some officials discussing the rebuilding effort have signalled openness to change.

County supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Altadena, said “everything is going to be looked at”, when asked after a community meeting about building materials such as adobe.

Los Angeles County public works director Mark Pestrella, one of the officials coordinating site clean-up and construction permits, told Reuters that groups should come to his department to discuss new materials. Bring along designers and engineers to strike agreements on what works, he said.

“We have plenty of adobe structures that have been built in LA County up in some of these fire areas,” Mr Pestrella said. LA has a process for accepting alternative building materials.

“It’s just a matter of ‘is it in the code or do we have to go through an alternate means of review’? We have the capacity.”

That is encouraging to Mr Ben Loescher, an architect who is a long-time advocate of adobe, in particular. “The state of California has not taken this seriously and it really needs to. I think it’s obvious to everyone that business as usual is not working.”

One major question for builders is whether earthen materials are appropriate for earthquake country. Ms Sasha Rabin, who advocates and builds cob structures, said that in Los Angeles the technique might be more appropriate for walls that replace combustible fences or fireproof outbuildings.

Mr Loescher said that New Zealand, which is also a centre for earthquakes, had adopted rules for buildings made from earth.

“Physics and earthquakes are not that different around the world,” he said wryly. “In California, all masonry structures are required to be reinforced,” he added. “The same thing can be done with earthen materials, whether it’s cob or adobe, compressed earth block, or rammed earth.”

Natural building is one solution of many, he said.

Natural builder Chris Martinez, 34, helped Ms Pedersen build her outdoor kitchen. His nearby house was destroyed, except for a cob bench. He noted there are questions such as how to finance new buildings and how to get insurance – problems that may slow conventional builders as well after the fires.

He aims to push forward with like-minded home owners who are able to lobby and work together.

“This is like a pivotal point of our community,” he said. “It gives us the option to either learn from our mistakes or we could continue doing the same thing over and over again.” REUTERS