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Many residents here in Los Angeles are starting to rebuild after the wildfires in January destroyed thousands of homes. Government officials often face pressure to loosen building regulations after disasters, but in LA, the rules are getting tougher for more than 500 homeowners who will have to make their houses more resistant to future fires. Lauren Sommer has more from NPR's climate desk.
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LAUREN SOMMER, BYLINE: When Patrick and Ruth Fong look at the debris pile that used to be their home, they see all the places their kids used to play.
PATRICK FONG: That's our kids' bikes out front, all rusted and burned up.
RUTH FONG: That's the basketball hoop.
P FONG: Basketball hoops. You see our little...
SOMMER: There's a charred ring of metal in the backyard that used to be a trampoline.
R FONG: Yeah. So this is the only house that our kids remember.
SOMMER: It burned in the Eaton Fire, which hit Altadena in January. For the first time, though, the Fongs are starting to picture what could be here in the future.
P FONG: Yeah, we actually just met with our contractor today to finalize the floor plan for what things will look like.
SOMMER: Right after the fire, Patrick says they weren't sure they wanted to keep living here. This is the second time a wildfire has hit this property. It also burned in 1993 before they owned it.
P FONG: We had in our heads, oh, my gosh, we have to build it and then sell it 'cause what if it happens again? Or, you know, all these terrible things that we're thinking about.
SOMMER: But they love their neighbors. So now they're asking their contractor how to rebuild a house that's safer. That could mean using fire-resistant materials, like a roof or siding that won't ignite as easily. But they're also thinking about the cost.
P FONG: With fireproof construction, how much more is that going to be? And how much can we really afford? - 'cause, I mean, we're already maxing out our policy for this.
SOMMER: Some homeowners rebuilding in Los Angeles will have to use fire-resistant materials. That's because California is one of the few states that has building codes that require it in areas at risk. Right now, the Fongs aren't considered to be in one of those risky areas, so they don't have to rebuild with wildfire codes. It's based on state maps. But for some homeowners, that will change in just a few months.
AMY BODEK: So our maps for LA County are coming out. There's a lot of trepidation from many folks.
SOMMER: Amy Bodek is the director of regional planning for the county of Los Angeles. She says the state determines where wildfire building codes apply. Under the new maps, more than 500 properties in the Eaton Fire burn area now will have to use them, according to an analysis by NPR. Bodek says that aligns with how Los Angeles County is trying to make communities safer from wildfires.
BODEK: Certainly not going to prevent the disasters, but how can we minimize, strategically, the harm to individuals and to properties?
SOMMER: The new wildfire zones must be adopted by the end of July. That puts some homeowners in a tricky spot. If they can get a building permit approved before then, then they don't have to use wildfire-resistant materials. And the majority of buildings in the Eaton Fire burn area - almost 8,000 - won't have to use wildfire building codes either because they're still not in a designated wildfire zone. Wildfire experts say it's important that every house there is constructed to resist wildfires. Kimiko Barrett is a wildfire researcher at Headwaters Economics, a nonprofit research group.
KIMIKO BARRETT: If homes are being rebuilt, they should be rebuilt with wildfire in mind because, unfortunately, we do know that risks are increasing. History repeats itself. This will not be the only time that LA experiences a catastrophic wildfire.
SOMMER: Barrett says studies show that using wildfire-resistant materials has helped save homes during wildfires. That's because a lot of homes ignite from tiny embers blown by the wind, so you want building materials that resist them. And they're not hard to find.
BARRETT: These are often materials commonly used on the market, widely available - things like asphalt roofs, things like Hardie plank fiber cement siding - very, very common, very affordable.
SOMMER: Overall, it can add just 2% to the cost of construction at the low end, she says, or at the high end, adds around 10% if you use something like an all-metal roof. The power of mandatory building code, she says, is that they make entire neighborhoods safer.
Lauren Sommer, NPR News.
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