Project profile: San Juan Capistrano

By Emma Peterson. 

Faced with increasing wildfire threats, homeowners are discovering the value of installing stone-coated steel roofing. 

For many people the 2025 Pacific Palisades and Eaton Fires were a harsh wake-up call to the risks of living in the fire-prone region of Southern California. And for good reason. These fires not only destroyed over 16,000 structures and burned more than 38,000 acres, they are a part of what experts call a larger increase in fire frequency and intensity. Manzhu Yu, an assistant professor of geography at Penn State, reports that the “annual average burned area in 2020-2023 that is three times higher than in the 2010s" and that more communities are at risk, with, specifically “12.7% of the state's population now residing in high-growth census tracts along the Wildland-Urban Interface (areas where human development meets natural landscapes).” 

In response to this, many homeowners are trying to rebuild or renovate with fire prevention in mind. One such homeowner hired Anaheim-based Western Roofing Systems to reroof their San Juan Capistrano cottage. They explained, “We were replacing a cedar shake roof, and our house has a very French Cottage feel to it. We wanted to keep that feel without the fire risk of the shake.” 

The solution that Western Roofing Systems recommended? Westlake Royal Roofing Products’ Unified Steel stone coated steel roofing. Why? Unified Steel products have been tested against ASTM E108 to protect from fire spread. Further, when installed with the right accessories, like the fire-resistant roof deck protection and SmartVent attic ventilation chosen by Western Roofing Systems on this project, Unified Steel achieves a Class A fire rating! This rating is a systems-based test that examines how well a roofing material handles issues like wind-driven embers. Class A is the highest rating.  

And fire protection is not the only benefit of stone-coated steel! The homeowner also will have increased energy efficiency thanks to Unified Steel’s thermal insulation and less maintenance in comparison to a traditional shake roof. Overall, stone-coated roofing was the perfect product for this homeowner. As she put it, “Our new roof is gorgeous and we sleep better at night knowing we have some extra protection from fire.”