An insurance-backed investigation found properties that had little vegetation and flammable material within five feet were less likely to burn in the Eaton and Palisades fires.

Only 9% of homes with a cleared ‘zone zero’ were destroyed, compared with 27% of properties with significant vegetation and flammable materials in the zone.

The findings seem to support California’s draft zone zero regulations. Critics, however, say the report doesn’t pass scientific muster.

As the Eaton and Palisades fires rapidly jumped between tightly packed houses, the proactive steps some residents took to retrofit their homes with fire-resistant building materials and to clear flammable brush became a significant indicator of a home’s fate.

Early adopters who cleared vegetation and flammable materials with

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