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Fire Damage Restoration in Los Angeles, CA
The January 2025 Palisades Fire burned 23,448 acres and destroyed 6,837 structures under Los Angeles City Fire Department jurisdiction; fire accounts for 61 of the county's 88 federal disaster declarations. One call reaches vetted local fire-restoration pros, 24/7.
Fire accounts for more federal disaster declarations in Los Angeles than every other hazard combined — 61 of 88 on record, four of them in 2025 alone: the Palisades, Eaton, Hurst, and Canyon fires. The Eaton Fire destroyed 9,414 structures and damaged 1,074 more that January under LA County Fire Department jurisdiction. With 13.9 inches of average annual rainfall, fuels across the county stay dry well into Santa Ana wind season.
Live satellite fire activity near Los Angeles
Updated 17:07 UTC10
satellite heat detections within ~50 miles · last 24 hours
Live data: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS satellite) — heat detections, not confirmed fires.
Fire damage risk in Los Angeles
61
federally-declared fire incidents in Los Angeles County (FEMA)
2025
most recent fire declaration: Palisades Fire (FEMA)
1
active fire event tracked in Los Angeles right now (live)
Sources: FEMA OpenFEMA — federally-declared disaster history (county FIPS 06037) · NOAA NCEI — 1991–2020 Climate Normals (CULVER CITY, CA US)
Recent events in Los Angeles
Live from the DisasterStatus event tracker — Los Angeles is named in each event's affected area.
Fire risk in Los Angeles: what drives it
Housing age is the first driver. The county's median home dates to 1965, sixteen years older than the national median — meaning much of the hillside stock went up decades before Chapter 7A of the California Building Code began requiring Class A roofs, ember-resistant vents, ignition-resistant exterior walls and multipane glazing on new buildings in very high fire hazard severity zones. Those houses were built to an earlier standard, and nothing obliges an existing one to be retrofitted to it.
The exposure is also widening. CAL FIRE's recommended hazard maps, issued March 24, 2025, expanded very high severity designation by more than 30 percent countywide against the 2011 maps, reaching foothill neighborhoods north of Ventura Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley that had never carried it. Climate loads the rest: on roughly 13.9 inches of rain in an average year, two wet winters grew fuel that a record-dry autumn then cured — fine-fuel moisture sat under 10 percent when Santa Ana gusts forecast above the 98th percentile arrived.
The local code posture is strictest on vegetation: the city fire code requires year-round brush clearance within 200 feet of structures in the very high zone. For a homeowner, the practical consequence is that ember and smoke damage routinely reaches houses that flame never touched — see the fire damage restoration guide.
Rebuilding after a fire: permits you'll need
Rebuilding after a structure fire in Los Angeles runs through the Department of Building and Safety, with debris handled at the county level. Under the Mayor's Emergency Executive Order No. 1 of January 13, 2025, demolition of buildings destroyed by the January 2025 wildfires needs no demolition permit when the department is notified through its online portal beforehand, the pad slope is no steeper than 20 percent, and foundation excavation stays under three feet. Debris removal still requires a county Fire Debris Removal Permit and a Completion Certificate before rebuilding. Smaller repairs may qualify as express permits; all permitted work stays unapproved until inspected.
| Permit / inspection | When it applies |
|---|---|
| LADBS — Demolition of Structures Destroyed or Damaged by the 2025 Wildfires (P/BC 2026-155) | Applies to structures destroyed or substantially damaged by the January 2025 Palisades, Hurst, Kenneth, Archer, and Sunset fires. A demolition permit is not required when the applicant notifies the department through the online portal prior to demolition, the building footprint or pad slope is not steeper than 1 vertical to 5 horizontal, and foundation excavation does not exceed three feet with lateral support maintained. Steeper sites require a permit, and deep foundations, piles, grade beams, stepped footings, and retaining walls always require one. |
| Los Angeles County Public Works — Fire Debris Removal Permit and Completion Certificate | Demolition of a structure substantially damaged or destroyed by fire must comply with local, state, and federal regulations for waste disposal and debris removal, including those set by the county's public works department. Debris removal requires a Fire Debris Removal Permit, applied for through the county's online permitting portal, followed by a Completion Certificate, also called a final sign-off. That certificate is what clears a parcel to move into rebuilding. |
| LADBS — Express Permits, No Plan Check Required (P/GI 2026-003) | Fire damage repair for residential buildings only, to a maximum of 10 percent of the replacement cost of the building, is listed as an express permit, meaning it is issued without a plan check. Repair of damaged wiring is separately listed as an express electrical permit, and replacement of damaged framing members below 10 percent of replacement cost is listed for single-family dwellings and duplexes. Express permits are obtained online or by appointment at the department's permitting counters. |
| LADBS — Building Permit and Plan Check | A permit is required for private-property construction, alteration, or repair work on buildings in the city. Rebuilds beyond the express-permit thresholds need building permit and plan check approval before work begins, covering new buildings, structural alteration to a building or structure, interior modifications and floor plan changes, and any change of use or occupancy. Electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and fire sprinkler work carry separate permits with their own plan check and inspection requirements. |
| LADBS — Construction Inspection | Permitted work is not approved until it has been inspected and accepted by department inspection staff. An inspection must be requested before any work is covered or concealed, which governs the sequence on a fire rebuild, where replaced wiring, plumbing, and framing sit behind new drywall. Inspections are requested online or by phone. An extra inspection trip is itself listed among the department's express permit types. |
| LAFD — Securing a vacated building (LAMC 57.311.2.1) | The fire department's published requirements for vacated, non-occupied high-rise buildings direct the owner or person having charge or control to lock, barricade or otherwise secure all windows, doors and other openings which may allow entry into the building by unauthorized persons. Under LAMC 57.311.2.2, all fire doors are to be maintained in operating condition. These standards govern the vacancy period between the fire and reoccupation. |
Fire code & rebuild requirements
- LAMC Chapter V, Article 7 — Fire Protection and Prevention (2023 Los Angeles Fire Code)
- The city's fire code is the California Fire Code as adopted and amended locally, published by the Fire Department as the 2023 Los Angeles Fire Code. A rebuild is inspected against this locally amended edition rather than the state code alone, so plans drawn to the unamended state text can draw corrections. The adoption ordinance identifies which state sections were adopted and how each was changed.
- LAMC Chapter V, Article 7.1 — California Wildland-Urban Interface Code (2025 CWUIC) as locally amended
- Buildings in a Very High or High Fire Hazard Severity Zone must meet wildfire-exposure construction standards, enforced through the Department of Building and Safety's Fire Hazard Severity Zone supplemental plan-check list. Requirements include Class A roof assemblies, a prohibition on wood shingles and shakes in any severity zone, ember-resistant vent openings, under-floor areas fully enclosed to the ground, and noncombustible materials tested to ASTM E136. A like-for-like rebuild of a pre-code house does not qualify for an exemption.
- LAMC 57.4906.5.2 — Brush clearance in the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone
- Owners in the zone must keep vegetation cleared year-round, not seasonally, within 200 feet of any structure — including structures on adjoining property — and within 10 feet of a combustible fence or of any roadway or driveway used for vehicles. Grass and native brush are cut to three inches; native shrubs may stay if spaced at least 18 feet apart and trimmed up one-third of their height with dead material removed. Tree foliage must stay 10 feet from a chimney outlet and 5 feet above the roof. Clearance work is barred on red flag days.
- LAMC 91.8603 — Fire Protection Warning System (smoke alarm retrofit) and LAMC 91.420.6.2.3 (carbon monoxide devices)
- Smoke alarms are required on the ceiling or wall of every existing sleeping room, and in buildings of three or more units they must be hard-wired with battery backup. Repair or reconstruction pulls this in: a building permit valued over $1,000 on a one-family dwelling triggers retrofit of the whole house, which most fire-damage repairs exceed. A carbon monoxide device is separately required in any unit with a fossil-fuel appliance, fireplace, or attached garage.
Local fire-recovery notes
- Consolidated Debris Removal Program (Phase 2) — U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — After the January 2025 wildfires, structural ash, debris, chimneys, hazardous trees and up to six inches of soil within the ash footprint were cleared by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under FEMA's Consolidated Debris Removal Program, at no out-of-pocket cost to owners. Foundations were removed only if elected on the Right of Entry form; in-ground pools, driveways and slope-stabilizing walls were excluded. Owners had to file the ROE form by April 15, 2025 — missing it counted as opting out.
- LADBS Self-Certification Pilot Program (Emergency Executive Order No. 6) — Mayor's Emergency Executive Order No. 6, issued April 22, 2025, directed the Department of Building and Safety to stand up a plan-check self-certification pilot for areas destroyed in the January 2025 wildfires. California-licensed architects, and later civil engineers, may take responsibility for verifying code compliance in place of a full plan check.
- Pre-Approved Standard Plan Pilot Program (Emergency Executive Order No. 7) — The city publishes a library of pre-reviewed, code-compliant architectural and engineering house plans for wildfire rebuilds, drawn to incorporate fire-resistant materials and defensible-space requirements, which bypass standard plan review. Under Emergency Executive Order No. 7, permit fees are waived for owners who held the property before January 7, 2025. A rebuild has three years from permit issuance to finish, and permits must be pulled before January 13, 2032 to use the streamlined provisions. Plans are submitted through the One-Stop Rebuilding Center at 1828 W. Sawtelle Blvd.
- LAFD Brush Clearance Program — inspection fee schedule — The fire department discontinued self-inspection affidavits: parcels in the brush clearance zone are inspected automatically beginning May 1, with no notification needed from the owner. A parcel that passes the initial inspection is charged nothing. A failed first inspection carries a $31 fee; a failed second inspection adds $722 on top of it. If the parcel fails twice and the city contracts out the clearing, a $1,434 administrative fee applies plus the contractor's costs, billed to the owner.
Cleanup & recovery services nearby
- Los Angeles County Permanent Household Hazardous and E-Waste Collection Centers — Free county-run drop-off for paint, solvents, chemicals, batteries, fluorescent lights and electronics — two permanent sites (Antelope Valley Environmental Collection Center in Palmdale, EDCO Recycling & Transfer Center in Signal Hill), limit 15 gallons or 125 pounds per trip.
- The Board Up Company — Veteran-owned emergency board-up of windows and doors, roof tarping and glass repair since 1994, with roughly one-hour response across the San Fernando Valley and Westside — secures openings only and refers restoration work out.
- Metropolis Disposal — Family-owned roll-off dumpster rental since 1998 out of Van Nuys — 10, 25 and 40-yard bins on 7-day rentals with same-day delivery where available, serving the San Fernando Valley and the greater metro area.
- RDS Rivas Disposal Service — Locally owned hauler operating since 1986 — 10, 20-30 and 40-yard roll-off dumpsters for demolition and cleanup debris across the county, the city and the South Bay.
- Bay Cities Tree Preservation — ISA Certified Arborists with Tree Risk Assessment Qualification handling removals, risk assessments and protected-species permit compliance in the city, Malibu, Topanga and Pacific Palisades.
By the numbers
- Fire debris removed after the January 2025 fires — Hauled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from the Eaton and Palisades burn areas; the EPA separately removed over 300 tons of household hazardous waste.
- 2.6M+ tons
- Lost economic output from the 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires — County estimate; roughly 6,800 businesses and 47,000 workers were affected.
- $5.2–$10.1B
Other restoration services
Costs & local data
Fire damage restoration cost, California disaster statistics