Fire marshal says fire-resistant construction is necessary, but awareness is also key

RAINBOW ---- At first glance, Bob and Anne Atkins' house doesn't look too much like a fortress.

Its yellow stucco walls and Mexican tile roof blend in with other houses in the residential area just east of Interstate
15, overlooking Stewart Canyon stretching out to the south.

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But it is a fortress of sorts, designed to keep flames and smoldering debris at bay the next time a fire roars over the hill where the couple's 6-acre lot is perched ---- like the Rice Canyon wildfire that razed 219 homes and scorched 9,500 acres in Fallbrook, Rainbow and De Luz a year ago this week.

From the gravity-fed sprinkler system to a series of roll-down exterior window shutters, it's not far-fetched to imagine the place holding its own in an advance of airborne embers and wind-whipped flames.

Several local officials agree, saying last week that the couple's precautions will probably pay off some day and that others should follow their lead when they build homes in the county's rural areas prone to wildfire.

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