Why don't they use reinforced concrete since they're in an earthquake and fire zone? This wood seems so temporary.

The numbers don't pan out until for buildings with fewer than 5 floors or so. I don't know the street, but this will almost certainly be a 3 story house, max.

Lots of historic reasons for why Canada and the USA build with wood, but beyond that and going forward, I expect we're going to see even more of a pivot toward wood buildings as both countries try to meet their climate goals. Concrete is a big CO2 emitter while wood is CO2 storage.

I wonder how brick adds up?

Hm. No idea. Probably the worst material for the earthquake zone cities on the west coast tho.