David Brancaccio

That's the obvious concern.

But what researchers have found is that thick mass timber behaves very differently under extreme heat.

When CLT is exposed to fire, the outer layer chars and burns away first, forming a blackened crust.

That char layer actually protects what's underneath, slowing the fire and insulating the remaining wood.

What's it like to live in your CLT house?

Susan decided to build her own house as a living case study.

Small, urban, and experimental.

Just 1,500 square feet.

It's a proof point for how this material can work not just in big buildings, but in homes.

So first of all, we see some beautiful surfaces.

These are CLT panels I'm looking at?

You can see the cross-section of your CLT behind you really clearly, right here.

Beautiful.

Walking these few blocks, Jen, what stands out is how many different answers there are to the same question, not whether to rebuild, but how, especially in a more extreme climate.

Some people would say we crash test houses.

We're not going to stop the storms.

We're not going to stop the ignitions.

20 seconds to ignition.

In this case, the innovation isn't a new material, but a new way of building.

The challenge isn't just resilience.