The Agoura Hills Fire Safe Council, in partnership with the City of Agoura Hills, is proud to announce the launch of a new Home Hardening Program designed to help residents protect their homes from the threat of wildfires.
As part of this program, Agoura Hills residents will receive free ember-resistant vent mesh to harden their homes against ember intrusion.
The program officially launched on September 2, 2025. Ordering is done online, and resident mesh pickup will begin on September 6, 2025. Pickup times will continue on the 1st Saturday of each month from 8:00 a.m. – 10 a.m. and the 3rd Thursday of each month from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. The location for pickup will be the Agoura Hills City Hall parking lot. This program is only available to Agoura Hills residents, and the program will conclude when all funds are exhausted.
Prior to pickup, residents need to:
- Identify your type of vent (identifying images provided online)
- Count and measure your vents
- Order online
- Complete the online order form
- Follow the pickup instructions
Why we created a free Ember-Resistant Vent Mesh Program
The foremost study on home hardening is NIST Technical Note 2205 which recommends 40 actions that should be taken.
So, where should you focus your efforts?
The diagram below shows the relative cost of upgrading the listed features to ember-resistant materials and design compared to the priority level which indicates the features most vulnerable to wildfires and embers.
When reviewing the diagram below we see that the three low-cost and high-priority items are:
- Vents – This is where we can have the most cost effective impact on homes by providing free ember-resistant mesh to residents
- Gutters – Metal gutter mesh guards are a high priority with a reasonable relative cost
- Maintenance – It is very important for the resident to keep up with the home hardening maintenance of their home
The installation of non-combustible gutter guards and the replacement or retrofitting of the vents to your attic, basement and crawlspace have proven to be inexpensive and very effective in wildfire mitigation.
For a limited time, the City of Agoura Hills and the Agoura Hills Fire Safe Council will distribute FREE ember-resistant mesh to help residents retrofit their vents with metal mesh that will help defend against ember intrusion in the case of a wildfire. Embers entering homes during wildfires have shown to be the number one ignition threat to homes.
Ember-resistant metal mesh blocks embers, reduces radiant heat and diffuses direct flames.
Our FREE distribution of ember-resistant mesh provides an affordable and trusted home hardening solution to defend your home from the threat of wildfires. The ember-resistant mesh we supply is proven to be 98% effective at stopping dangerous embers, reduces radiant heat by ~38%, and diffuses direct flame.
Note, this is a “while supplies last” program, intended to incentivize and jumpstart proactive behavior in the community. When supplies and/or funding are exhausted, the program will be retired. However, the City and Fire Safe Council will continue to be a resource of information and guidance for the community.
