Rare Earth Hardwoods supplies dense, naturally ignition-resistant Brazilian hardwood for wildfire rebuilds in Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) and Fire Hazard Severity Zone communities — heavy-timber frames, solid hardwood doors, deck framing, and decking — from Los Angeles County to fire-prone regions across the West.
Density is the mechanism behind ignition resistance in solid hardwood. A tightly packed, low-resin species like Ipê, Cumaru, or Massaranduba conducts heat away from a flame source and forms an insulating char layer rather than flaring, slowing ignition and flame spread compared to softwoods and less dense domestic species.
California's wildfire code accepts heavy timber construction for exterior walls when members meet the code's minimum sizes. See our timber frames.
The code accepts solid-core wood doors with stiles and rails at least 1-3/8" thick and panels at least 1-1/4". See our custom doors.
Dense hardwood posts, beams, and joists. Wildfire deck rules focus mainly on the walking surface; confirm local requirements per project.
Our decking species perform strongly in published fire research, but our decking is not yet on California's approved-products list for regulated zones.
Independent studies from university fire-engineering labs in Europe and Brazil consistently find that dense tropical hardwoods take longer to ignite, burn more slowly, and lose far less material under direct flame than softwoods and common North American hardwoods.
| Time to ignition (cone calorimeter) | Ipê & Garapeira: ~90 seconds · Spruce: 31–51 seconds |
|---|---|
| Mass lost, 5 min direct flame | Ipê: 2.9% · Oak 8.1%, Beech 10.1%, Ash 11.0%, Birch 11.0% |
| Peak burning rate | Ipê: 0.015 %/s · Oak, beech, ash, birch: 0.10–0.12 %/s |
| Heat release & smoke | Garapeira: lowest of the five tropical hardwoods tested |
Small-sample laboratory results; not a code listing or a guarantee of performance in a specific assembly.
For permits issued from January 1, 2026, California's wildfire construction rules are in the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code (CWUIC, Title 24, Part 7); earlier permits fall under Chapter 7A of the California Building Code. In regulated zones, decking must be a State Fire Marshal-listed product or pass the required decking fire tests, and a listing belongs to the specific company and product tested, not to a species. Within about 5 feet of the house, California's pending Zone 0 rule and insurer programs call for noncombustible materials, so plan hardwood decking beyond that zone. Confirm your project's exact requirements with your building department, fire marshal, or architect before finalizing a spec.
Tight, low-resin grain slows ignition and flame spread compared to softwoods and less dense domestic species.
Peer-reviewed studies show dense Brazilian hardwoods ignite later and burn slower than softwoods.
Timber frames and solid hardwood doors have code-accepted paths in California's wildfire code today.
Species data and published research you can hand to your architect, fire marshal, or building department for review.
Research cited
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Every species on this page is sourced through our own Zero Impact Brazil facility, harvested sustainably and ethically, in compliance with all applicable regulatory agencies. We supply wildfire-rebuild projects across Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Altadena, and other fire-prone Western markets, and we'd rather tell you exactly what a species can and can't claim than oversell it on a page like this one.
It describes how readily a material catches fire and how fast flame spreads once it does. Dense hardwoods resist ignition better than softwoods: their tight, low-resin grain conducts heat away from a flame source and forms an insulating char layer rather than flaring. It's a real, measurable property, but it is a different thing from a code listing, such as California's approved-products list for WUI decking. See the next question.
Not automatically, and we want to be direct about that. In California's designated fire hazard zones, decking must be a product listed by the State Fire Marshal (OSFM Building Materials Listing) or pass the required decking fire tests (SFM 12-7A-4 / 12-7A-4A, or ASTM E2632 and E2726). Some suppliers hold listings for their own tested Ipê and Cumaru products, but a listing belongs to the company and product tested, not to the species. We have not listed our decking yet, so confirm your project's requirements with your building department, fire marshal, or architect before finalizing a decking spec in a regulated zone.
For permits issued from January 1, 2026, California's wildfire construction requirements are in the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code (CWUIC, Title 24, Part 7); earlier permits fall under Chapter 7A of the California Building Code. Both set material and construction requirements for new construction and many remodels in Wildland-Urban Interface areas and designated Fire Hazard Severity Zones, covering decking, siding, eaves, vents, windows, doors, and more. Requirements vary by jurisdiction and local amendment, which is why current Altadena and Pacific Palisades rebuild guidance points homeowners to their local building department for the rules that apply to their parcel.
Not yet for our own lumber. Class A is a flame-spread result under the ASTM E84 test, and for hardwoods it depends largely on the density of the specific boards tested. Published Class A results for Ipê and Cumaru belong to other suppliers' products. We don't claim a fire rating until we have our own test report.
In a 2020 cone calorimeter study of five tropical hardwoods, Garapeira had the lowest peak heat release, the lowest smoke production, and the highest protective char residue, and both Garapeira and Ipê took about 90 seconds to ignite versus 31–51 seconds for spruce. In a separate 2023 open-flame study, Ipê lost 2.9% of its mass after five minutes of direct flame, versus 8–11% for oak, beech, ash, and birch. A 2025 Brazilian university study ranked Jatobá, Massaranduba, and yellow Ipê among the most suitable Amazon species for fire-safe structural use. These are laboratory results, not code listings.
Zone 0 is the ember-resistant zone within roughly 0 to 5 feet of a structure, defined under California's ongoing Senate Bill 63 rulemaking, and it calls for nearly nonflammable materials immediately next to the house. Insurer programs point the same way: the IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home program requires noncombustible decking for its top designation. No wood decking qualifies in that zone, so plan hardwood decking beyond it, and confirm current rules with your local jurisdiction and insurer.
For heavy-timber framing, yes: California's wildfire code accepts heavy timber construction for exterior walls, provided members meet the code's minimum heavy-timber sizes. Exterior doors are accepted when they are solid-core wood with stiles and rails at least 1-3/8" thick and panels at least 1-1/4" thick, with tempered glass in any glazing. Siding needs a noncombustible or labeled ignition-resistant material, and fencing or anything else within 5 feet of the house has stricter rules. Confirm your specific application with your building department or architect.
Tell us your location, Fire Hazard Severity Zone designation if known, and what you're specifying — timber frame, doors, deck framing, or decking — and we'll recommend species and share the published research.
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