Newsom Bends Coastal Zoning Rules To Help Fire Victims Quickly Rebuild

CALIFORNIA — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has issued another executive order, affirming the suspension of permitting requirements in coastal areas that would have prevented wildfire victims from quickly rebuilding their homes.

On Monday, Newsom further directed the Coastal Commission not to issue guidance or take any action that interferes or conflicts with his order.

“As the state helps the Los Angeles area rebuild and recover, we will continue to remove barriers and red tape that stand in the way," Newsom said. "We will not let over-regulation stop us from helping the LA community rebuild and recover.”

Under the order, all permitting requirements under the California Coastal Act and CEQA have been suspended, Newsom said.

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The order also removed barriers to temporary housing by extending the amount of time people can stay at hotels and short-term rentals during the emergency. Temporarily, those impacted by fires will be able to remain classified as short-term occupants rather than tenants when they stay longer than 30 days. These rules will be suspended until March 8.

The Eaton and Palisades fires that killed at least 27 people and reduced entire neighborhoods to rubble were sparked during Santa Ana wind events that blew violently across a bone-dry Southland that hadn't seen significant rain in more than nine months.

Between the two fires, nearly 38,000 acres burned, displacing tens of thousands of people and destroying countless homes along the coast and inland.

As thousands remain displaced, the process of rebuilding and cleaning up burn areas will be a colossal undertaking that involves miles of regulatory tape that both Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass have vowed to cut through.

“Rebuilding the homes themselves actually is the easy part,” said Tom Grable, division president, Orange County-Los Angeles, for Nevada-based Tri Pointe Homes, told NBC. "The much harder part is what it’s going to take to bring those lots back to buildable form," he said, referring to the cleanup process.

A White House statement on Friday said President Donald Trump has directed federal officials to help Southern California with clearing wildfire burn areas. Within five days of the order, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other departments “shall develop and execute a plan to expedite the bulk removal of contaminated and general debris,” the statement said.

City and county officials last week expedited cleanup efforts and other measures aimed at mitigating the environmental impacts of fire-related pollutants.

The Eaton and Palisades fires could end up one of the most costly disasters in U.S. history.

According to AccuWeather and JP Morgan, the total estimated economic loss from the fires has swelled to more than $250 billion. What's more, U.S. insurance stocks fell on Friday as analysts said insurance losses from the fires could reach $20 billion, Reuters reported.

To date, the most expensive U.S. natural disaster was 2005's Hurricane Katrina, which cost around $200 billion.

"Tragically, lives have been changed forever in just a matter of minutes. Many families may not be able to afford to rebuild or repair and return," AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said. "The recovery process will be extremely expensive and emotionally challenging in the months and years to come."

As of Monday, following the region's first storm of the season, the fires were barely smoldering and almost entirely contained. But the rain brought a new set of hazards — mudslides and debris flow, which forced the closure of schools along the coast and the 5 Freeway on Monday.

During the weekend's rain event, flood watches were in effect for the Palisades, Altadena and Castaic Lake areas, said Joe Sirard, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service's office for Los Angeles.

“All these fresh burns are very susceptible to rapid runoff,” Sirard said Sunday.

Mudslides could further deepen the devastation in wildfire-impacted areas.

Concerns about post-fire debris flows have been especially high since 2018, when the town of Montecito, up the coast from Los Angeles, was ravaged by mudslides after a downpour hit mountain slopes charred by a huge wildfire. Hundreds of homes were damaged and 23 people died.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.