Eighty-six percent of homes lost in wildfires are ignited by wind-blown embers. These embers are small. The embers are hot. The embers fly through the air. The embers land on surfaces. The embers land on the roof. The embers land on the ground. The embers land on the walls.

Most people do not think about the embers. Most people think about the big fire. They think about the wall of flames. The wall of flames is scary. But the embers arrive first. The embers arrive before the fire front. The embers stay. The embers burn.

The Anatomy of Fragility

I broke my favorite mug this morning. The mug was ceramic. The mug fell on the floor. The mug broke into twelve pieces. One piece was large. The other pieces were small. I looked at the pieces. I did not move.

I thought about things that last. I thought about things that break. A mug is a small thing. A house is a big thing. Both things can break. Both things can burn. I felt a small anger. The anger was about the mug. Then the anger was about the walls.

The man in the canyon neighborhood has a rake. The man rakes the dirt. The man rakes the dry leaves. The man moves the leaves into a pile. The man is 48 years old. The man wears a green hat. The man clears the brush. The man thinks he is safe.

The man has a thirty-foot circle. The circle is clear of brush. The man watches a video on his phone. The video says to clear the brush. The man follows the instructions. The man is careful.

“The man is trying to control the fire. The man rakes the dirt to stop the fire. But the man does not look at the house. The house is behind the man.”

– Muhammad P.K., Body Language Coach

Muhammad P.K. is a body language coach. Muhammad P.K. stands on the sidewalk. He watches the man rake the dirt. Muhammad P.K. sees the man’s hands. The hands are tight. The man’s knuckles are white. Muhammad P.K. says the man is afraid.

The walls are made of cedar. The cedar is dry. The cedar is wood. Wood burns. The man chose the cedar years ago. The man went to a store. The man saw the cedar. The cedar had a grain. The grain was wavy. The grain was beautiful.

The salesman showed the man the cedar. The salesman did not talk about fire. The salesman talked about the look of the wood. The salesman talked about the smell of the wood. The salesman said the wood was natural. The man liked the word natural. The man bought the wood. The man put the wood on his house.

The wood is the biggest surface on the house. The wood is 2,140 square feet of fuel. The man clears the brush. The man leaves the fuel. The fire does not care about the rake. The fire does not care about the pile of leaves. The fire cares about the fuel.

The fire will find the cedar. The fire will find the grain. The fire will burn the grain. The man does not know this yet. The man will know this when the fire comes. The fire is the teacher. The man is the student. The lesson is expensive.

3. The Glass

Single-pane glass is thin. Heat breaks the glass. The heat is 412 degrees. The glass cracks. The fire enters the room. Double-pane glass is better. Tempered glass is the best. The man did not buy tempered glass. He bought the standard glass. The standard glass was cheaper.

4. The Deck

The deck is attached to the house. The deck is made of wood. The wood is 560 pounds of fuel. The man puts a grill on the deck. The man puts chairs on the deck. The chairs are plastic. Plastic melts. The deck burns. The deck is a bridge. The bridge leads the fire to the wall.

5. The Cladding

The fifth decision is the Exterior Cladding. The cladding covers the house. The cladding is the skin of the house. Most people pick wood. They pick wood because it looks warm. They pick wood because it is traditional. But wood is fuel.

The man picked the cedar. The cedar is 18 millimeters thick. The cedar is very dry. There are better choices. There is composite cladding. The composite cladding uses plastic and wood flour. Some composite cladding has a fire rating. The fire rating is Class B or Class A. The man did not ask about the rating. He asked about the grain.

I look at my broken mug again. I pick up the pieces. I put the pieces in the trash. The pieces make a sound. The sound is sharp. I need a new mug. I will buy a mug that does not break. But everything breaks if you hit it hard enough.

A house is the same. A house will burn if the fire is hot enough. But we can make the fire work harder. We can make the fire look for a different house. The man with the rake stops working. He wipes his forehead. He looks at his house.

He thinks he has done a good job. He does not see the fuel. He sees the architecture. He sees the grain of the cedar. He thinks the cedar is his friend. The cedar is not a friend. The cedar is a chemical compound. The chemical compound reacts to heat. The reaction is combustion.

Muhammad P.K. walks away. He tells me the man is still tense. The man knows something is wrong. The man does not know what is wrong. The man feels the vulnerability. The man feels the house is a target.

Muhammad P.K. says the man’s feet are pointed toward the car. The man is ready to run. He is not ready to stay.

The Lab and the Ledger

People go to the showroom in San Diego. They look at the boards. They touch the boards. The boards are heavy. The boards are straight. The boards are Wood-Plastic Composite. The people ask about the price. The price is $76 dollars per square.

The shipping is free in the United States. The people ask about the maintenance. There is no maintenance. You do not paint the boards. You do not seal the boards. The boards stay the same. Then the people ask about the fire. This is a new question.

People did not ask this question ten years ago. Now the hills are brown. The sky is orange in October. People ask about the ASTM E84 test. The test is a flame spread test. The test uses a tunnel. The tunnel is 24 feet long. The flame is at one end. The flame travels. The speed of the flame is measured.

The man in the canyon did not know about the tunnel. He did not know about the ASTM E84 test. He knew about the rake. He knew about the pile of leaves. He is a good man. He wants to protect his family. He spent four hours raking the dirt. He spent zero minutes thinking about the wall.

The wall is the most important part. The wall is what the fire will touch first. We buy a car because it is shiny. We buy a shirt because it is blue. We buy a house because it looks like a home.

We should buy things for what they are. We should buy a wall because it is a wall. A wall should be a barrier. A wall should not be a matchstick. I will go to the store. I will buy a new mug. I will look at the material. I will ask if it can handle the heat.

The salesman will look at me. The salesman will think I am strange. I do not care. I have seen the man with the rake. I have seen the white knuckles. I have seen the cedar walls. I know how the story ends. The story ends with a question. The question is asked by the fire. The answer is already on the house.

I walk back to my kitchen. The floor is clean. The mug is gone. I think about the man. I hope the wind does not blow from the east today. I hope the embers stay on the ground. I hope the cedar stays cool.

But hope is not a material. Hope does not have a fire rating. The cladding has a rating. The roof has a rating. The glass has a rating. These are the things that matter. These are the things that stay when the fire leaves.

The man finishes his work. He puts the rake in the garage. He goes inside. He sits on his couch. He feels safe. The house is quiet. The walls are beautiful. The grain of the wood is dark and rich.

The man closes his eyes. He does not hear the wind. The wind is starting to move. The wind is coming from the hills. The hills are waiting. The fire is waiting. The decision has already been made. There is nothing left to do but wait for the answer.