Climate-resistant homes gain traction in Idaho as wildfires, extreme weather become more common

When evacuation orders came last summer due to an approaching wildfire near Tamarack Resort in Idaho, Heather Hering-Brown had an edge over her neighbors. Her home, built with insulated concrete form (ICF) construction, offered protection against the encroaching flames.

“The ICF home has a much higher fire rating. If a fire can’t get oxygen from it or fuel from it, it just skips over your house and continues on,” said Hering-Brown, president of the Idaho Home Builders Association and owner of Innovative Custom Homes.

As climate change drives more extreme weather events and longer wildfire seasons across the Northwest, builders like Hering-Brown are increasingly turning to innovative construction methods and materials that offer greater resilience while reducing energy costs.

ICF construction, which uses foam blocks filled with concrete to create durable and well-insulated walls, is gaining particular attention. The technique creates walls with insulation values of R-52 to R-55, more than double the

R-19 to R-22 rating of traditional wood-frame construction.

The results are dramatic. Hering-Brown’s 3,600-square-foot home in McCall maintains monthly energy bills under $100, compared to the $300 to $400 she previously spent on heating and cooling a similarly sized conventional home.

“In a traditional two-by-six constructed home with ICF, you can hear road noise or your neighbors. With ICF, you don’t have that noise pollution inside your home,” Hering-Brown said.

Beyond ICF construction, builders are incorporating multiple strategies to create more resilient homes. Metal roofs, though initially more expensive than traditional shingles, offer superior protection against extreme weather and can significantly outlast conventional materials.

“A $10,000 shingle roof is going to be a $30,000 to $40,000 metal roof, but it’s an investment,” Hering-Brown said. “In areas with heavy snow and ice, shingle roofs often don’t last their full 25- to 30-year lifespan due to ice dams and freeze-thaw cycles.”

Smart design plays an equally crucial role. Hering-Brown emphasized the importance of proper home positioning for passive solar benefits: When designing a new home, she situates houses so the sun isn’t shining directly on them during hot summer months, but in winter, when the sun is further south, it can help defrost driveways.

Other climate-resilient features gaining popularity include spray foam insulation in walls and conditioned attic spaces, high-efficiency windows that minimize heat transfer, continuous exterior sheathing systems that create airtight buildings and fire-wise landscaping with native plants and strategic breaks around properties.

Insurance companies are driving some of these changes. As insurers pull out of high-risk areas in California and Florida, homeowners are finding that resilient construction can significantly reduce insurance costs – sometimes by $1,500 to $2,000 monthly.

For budget-conscious homeowners, Hering-Brown recommended prioritizing climate-resilient features that would be difficult or expensive to add later, such as ICF construction, metal roofing or upgraded windows. Interior finishes can always be improved over time.

The trend toward climate-resilient construction shows no signs of slowing. As extreme weather events become more frequent, builders expect demand for these features to increase, particularly in areas prone to wildfires, extreme temperatures or severe storms.

“We’re definitely going to see more of it,” Hering-Brown said. “It’s driven obviously by climate change, but also by insurance companies and homeowners looking to protect their investments.”

For Hering-Brown, who celebrated 20 years in business in 2024, the benefits of climate-resilient construction extend beyond protection from natural disasters. Her ICF home in McCall maintains comfortable temperatures year-round without air conditioning, using only strategic window management to regulate indoor climate.

“We open our windows at night and close them by lunchtime,” she said. “It stays around 65 degrees in our house in the summertime without air conditioning.”

As Idaho faces hotter summers, colder winters and increased wildfire risk, the shift toward climate-resilient construction represents not just a trend but a fundamental change in how homes are built and designed for the future. These innovations in materials and design are helping create homes that can better withstand whatever nature throws their way while providing superior comfort and energy efficiency for their occupants.