Reduce Wildfire Risk.
Protect Your Home.
Get Insurance Discounts!
Are your fire insurance rates are out of control? The Wildfire Guys can help you qualify for discounts offered by your insurance company. If you have California FAIR plan insurance, those discounts can total 15% or more.
The Wildfire Guys offer wildfire risk assessments, home hardening services, and insurance inspections for home and business owners throughout the San Francisco Bay area. We will visit your home and show you all the ways you can harden it against wildfire. We will look at every gutter, vent, bush and tree to make our recommendations. You will receive a confidential and detailed report that describes exactly how to make your home and property safer, in order to qualify for the largest insurance discounts. Our reports are your confidential property, and never delivered to any other party.
Contact us today for a free consultation. We serve the entire San Francisco Bay area. Call or text 408-256-3796 for more information.
Live Webinar March 5, 2026
Fire Insurance Discounts Explained:
How to qualify for the largest discounts from the FAIR Plan and other insurers
Wildfire insurance is changing — and Santa Cruz Mountain homeowners who take the right steps may qualify for meaningful discounts under the California FAIR Plan.
Join The Wildfire Guys and wildfire insurance broker Chris Robinson (Coverage Plus Insurance Agency) for a practical, homeowner-focused webinar on how to qualify for home hardening discounts. We will discuss both California FAIR plan discounts, and discounts offered by State Farm and other insurers under the IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home guidelines.
The webinar will cover:
What wildfire hardening actions matter most
What insurers look for
Common mistakes homeowners make
How to document your work and submit your discount request.
The webinar is free. You will be able to ask questions during a live Q&A session at the end. You can join using Zoom, or dial in by phone to participate audio-only.
When: Thursday March 5, 2026, 6pm Pacific
Where: Click here to register on Zoom
Who is this for:
Santa Cruz Mountain homeowners who want wildfire hardening discounts
Homeowners who have lost their fire insurance
Cost: Free
The Wildfire Guys provide reports that you can use to document your wildfire hardening and mitigation efforts. Our reports are prepared by Dave Millman, CWMS (Certified Wildfire Mitigation Specialist) certified by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and meet the requirements of most insurance plans.
Click here to learn how The Wildfire Guys can help you get discounts on a FAIR plan policy.
What Homeowners Say about The Wildfire Guys
Mari, Santa Cruz County
“We moved into our new home in the Santa Cruz mountains in August, 2021. Our homeowners insurance company cancelled us in 2022, then the new company we found cancelled us again in 2023. We’ve been on the California FAIR plan for two years, at a fire insurance premium of $10,850. This does not include theft or liability insurance, just fire insurance.
“The Wildfire Guys did an on-site assessment for us. Even though our home is only 14 years old, they pointed out vulnerabilities in our gutters and decks, and especially in dead tree branches and vegetation out to 30 feet from the house. We decided to remove just one dying tree, and to trim up the branches on about 15 others. We also put up mesh below the decks to stop leaves and embers from blowing in, and installed new gutter guards.
“After all that, The Wildfire Guys did another on-site assessment at a big discount. We submitted that assessment to the FAIR plan. They granted all of the discounts except FireWise.”
Jackie & Scott, Santa Clara County
“AAA cancelled us last year after 22 years without any claims. Now the FAIR plan costs twice as much. We heard that we could get a discount for clearing out zones and vents, but had no idea where to start.
“Our neighbor who is a realtor said that we should call Dave the Wildfire Guy. He came out to our property and flew a drone to take pictures of the roof and the small deck in the back and the trees between us and our neighbors. He showed us how dead branches piled up against the fence could light on fire really easy. He gave us a list of things to clean up. We hired a handyman to put in an iron gate where the wooden fence touched the house. Then we did all of the landscape work ourselves. Then Dave came back and took new pictures and wrote a new report that shows what our house looks like after all the work. Our broker says that report is perfect to get the discounts.”
Our Team
Dave Millman, CWMS
Certified Wildfire Mitigation Specialist
Dave founded The Wildfire Guys to help California homeowners who are facing insurance cancellation or drastic cost increases. He has developed proprietary tools to create home assessments and reports that earn discounts from insurance providers, including the California FAIR plan.
After more than 30 years of home ownership, insurance carriers cancelled Dave’s homeowners policies three times in four years. His home is now covered by the California FAIR plan at an 860% cost increase. We understand your pain!
Dave is a Certified Wildfire Mitigation Specialist (CWMS) certified by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). You may click here or on the badge below to verify this certification.
Ben Carnahan
Operations Manager
Ben is experienced in all aspects of home hardening and maintenance for wildfire mitigation. He’s worked on every part of a home from the crawl space to the attic. He has managed and delivered services throughout California and Arizona.
Although the prospect of cleaning up a multi-acre property
can be daunting, Ben likes to say, “Start with the first thing, then do the next thing and pretty soon your home is hardened against wildfire. And you’ll be able to see between the trees again!”
Free Initial Consultation
Your first step is easy and free: schedule an initial consultation with The Wildfire Guys. We’ll ask questions to understand your situation, explore your options, and discuss next steps. There is no cost or obligation.
To schedule your free consultation, click this link.
On-Site Wildfire Risk Assessment
The Wildfire Guys will conduct a detailed wildfire risk assessment of your home and property, including:
Roof, gutters, walls, vents and foundation
Attachments: decks, fences, sheds
Landscaping, structures and fuel loads on the property":
Immediate Zone (Zone 0, out to 5 feet)
Intermediate Zone (Zone 1, 5-30 feet)
Extended zone (Zone 2, 30-100 feet)
You will receive a confidential report of our findings, plus mitigation recommendations to harden your home and reduce your risk of damage from wildfire. This report is not available to any other party.
On-Site Follow-Up Reports
Our clients often use our reports as a guide to hardening their home and property against wildfire. If you have made significant improvements that reduce your wildfire risk, The Wildfire Guys can provide a Follow-Up Report. During a second on-site visit, we will assess all of the same issues and write a new report. We offer a 50% discount on Follow-Up Reports.
Mitigation Services and
Contractor Referrals
Upon request, The Wildfire Guys can discuss mitigation services including installation of:
Ember-resistant vents in the eaves or foundation
Metal gutters or gutter guards
Flashing between decks or fences and your home
We can also provide referrals to state licensed, bonded and insured contractors who understand wildfire risk mitigation and can provide:
Tree trimming, landscaping and hardscaping services
Moving or removal of combustible structures
Roofing, fence and deck repairs or other construction
Your Report is Confidential!
Reports created by The WildFire Guys belong to you. They are your confidential information. We will not deliver your reports to any third party.
Many of our customers choose to share their report with their insurance company as evidence of their home hardening and wildfire risk mitigation efforts. You may also share your report with contractors, banks, appraisers or other parties. Upon your request, we will discuss your report with these third parties. There is no additional cost for this consultation.
Your Questions, Answered
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So was ours…three times over four years! We’re on the California FAIR plan, which is the only carrier offering fire insurance in our area. So we understand what you’re going through.
The FAIR plan and some other carriers offer discounts if you can demonstrate your home is hardened against wildfire. We can help you qualify for discounts offered by your carrier. Contact us today to learn more.
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Free consultations
On-site assessments to identify wildfire risks to your structure and property
Insurance Discount Applications ready to submit to your insurance carrier
First and foremost, we offer free consultations. When our homeowners insurance was cancelled, we didn’t know where to turn. If this has happened to you, or your rates are out of control, schedule a free consultation and we’ll point you in the right direction.
Second, we offer Wildfire Risk Assessments and Mitigation Recommendations. We’ll visit your home to examine everything from the roof down to the foundation and out onto your property. You’ll receive a detailed, confidential report describing how to lower your wildfire risk and harden your home. You can share this report with your insurance company. If you want to address the identified issues first, we can revisit your home and write a new report.
Finally, we are able to address some home hardening issues ourselves, and recommend state-licensed contractors. We are also happy to talk to your current contractors to explain the issues on our report.
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You should absolutely take advantage of whatever help your county offers. You may find that sufficient to receive your insurance discounts. Our services are different:
We will create the report to submit to your insurance company.
The report will include photos, measurements and descriptions of your mitigation efforts.
The report will conform to the unique requirements of your insurance carrier.
Different carriers have different requirements! (Cal FAIR vs IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home, etc.)
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On the date you schedule, we will meet your at your property and conduct a complete assessment. Typically we are looking at:
The roof, gutters, flashing and penetrations
The exterior walls, vents, windows and doors
Decks, fences, sheds and other attached structures
Zone 0 (Immediate Zone) 0-5 feet from your home
Zone 1 (Intermediate Zone) 5-30 feet out
Zone 2 (Extended Zone) 30-100 feet from your home
It is not necessary for us to enter your home or structure for this assessment.
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The Wildfire Guys were founded for just one purpose: To assist homeowners in reducing their wildfire risk and get the best possible fire insurance rates. Call us today to learn more.
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All of our assessments are conducted on-site. We start at the roof and closely examine every aspect of the structure and landscape for wildfire vulnerability. While we may use satellite photos or terrain maps to analyze the nearby slopes and vegetation, this is just background research for our on-site report.
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Getting started is simple. Reach out through our contact form or call or text 408-256-3796 . We’ll answer all your questions and discuss the next steps.
Contact Us
Interested in working together? Fill out some info and we will be in touch shortly. We can’t wait to hear from you!