Many homeowners rebuilding in the wake of this summer's Angora fire are planning to rebuild their homes with green technologies that improve efficiency and fire resistance.

Homeowner and Kayak Tahoe tours business owner Steve Lannoy lost his home in the fire.

"I'm taking a total open approach," Lannoy said. "But if I rebuild, I will definitely go green."

Danny Webb of Sierra Sustainable Builders said he is helping three homeowners in the rebuilding process, and that all three of them are going green.

"We're primarily using cement board siding," Webb said. "It's cheaper than cedar, easy to apply, easy to paint, made of recycled materials, efficient and fire resistant. It can be used with any number of framing options. It's our most recommended product."

"For roofs we're going with asphalt shingles," Webb said. "A lot of roofs are heavily fire coated, but asphalt is fire resistant. It's also easily recycled and can be turned back into road base if a re-roofing is ever necessary."

Stonefield Development, a home builder based out of Orange County, is also trying to help Angora homeowners go green.

"We've got about 25 homeowners who have signed letters of interest in our Angora Fire Rebuild program," said Patti Moser, project manager for the program. "We're striving for maximum efficiency both in the finished homes and in the building process itself. All of our homes will be built to the new (2008) codes."

The Angora Fire Rebuild plan is modeled off of the Scripps Ranch Rebuild that Stonefield did for 81 homeowners following the San Diego Cedar fire in October of 2003.

"The Angora Fire Rebuild is designed specifically for Angora though. We'll be working with local subcontractors as well," Moser said.

Staying local is a concern for Steve Lannoy.

"I'll give my local buddies the first option if I rebuild," said Lannoy, who is also considering the option of letting the Tahoe Conservancy buy-out his property. "I just believe in their program and think it's good for the lake. Part of my lot is wetland, so it might be good to ensure that it gets protected."

Concern for the environment seems to be on everyone's mind after the devastation of Angora.

"We're really hoping to start building concrete homes," Webb said. "There's a huge market for concrete homes in the valley right now, and we'd like to see more of it happening up here at Tahoe. It's getting harder and harder for people to meet the efficiency requirements of Title 24, the California mandates for efficiency in building. Cement buildings are already 15 percent beyond Title 24 requirements, and those restrictions are just going to get stricter by the year. A lot of recycled material can be used in the construction too."

In addition to recycled aggregates that can be used to make concrete, fly-ash, a waste product from coal burning power plants, is being used more and more in concrete production.

"Up to 90 percent of concrete can now be made from fly-ash," said Philippe Cohen, director of the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, home of Stanford University's first "green" building.

Fly-ash produces stronger, more durable concrete and can easily be obtained locally through Headwaters Inc., which has two terminals for its products in Northern Nevada and three more in Northern California.

For a comprehensive list of green architects, engineers, material suppliers and builders, visit the Sierra Green Builders Association Web site at www.sigba.org <http://www.sigba.org>; <http://www.sigba.org>; . At the SiGBA Web site you can also register for the Oct. 6 Green Home Tour.

"The Green Tour was one of the primary starts to our association," said Eli Meyer, president of the association.

This year's tour will be around North Lake Tahoe between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., departing from 64 Acres Park, behind the Bridgetender in Tahoe City. Seating is limited to about 45 people on a biodiesel bus, fueled courtesy of Truckee Biofuels.

"The home tour shows people what's real and what's working right now (with green building technologies) in the local area," Meyer said.

Those interested in learning more about the Going Green rebuild efforts can contact Stonefield Development at (530) 544-8443.

— Writer Allan Warren is a graduate fellow at UNR's Reynolds School of Journalism and operator of Kayak Alaska , a whitewater kayak school and expedition company based out of Denali National Park.