In California, fires engulf thousands of homes, the lives they take keep adding up, and they leave hundreds of thousands of acres charred, smoldering.

A life or-death factor has made itself clearer in the past few days. Evacuation routes and disaster drills don’t always work. Choked, bumper-to-bumper, inferno-lined tunnels to escape can fail epically as pathways to safety. People need more time, precious moments to flee according to plan. To do that, they need houses that can protect them longer as the danger kicks up, so that they can reach refuge strategically rather than in panic, chaos, and confusion.

Smarter houses. Future-proof houses. Maybe, although it’s sacrilege to say, not houses made of wood.

The article is written by John McManus for Forbes. You can read the full article here.