Rebuilding After a Wildfire

1. Find out what your insurance will cover

The first step is to confirm your insurance payout. Your policy may pay the replacement cost to rebuild to current standards. Or, it may pay the actual cash value of the house you lost, minus depreciation.

Your coverage may have limits and other carveouts, leaving gaps you need to fill. Your insurer or agent can help you understand your coverage.

2. Remove debris after a wildfire

Clearing your property of wildfire debris must be done before anything else. Materials can be toxic, containing asbestos, heavy metals, and ash. They require professional removal and disposal by certified contractors.

Local agencies can help you find the expertise to safely remove debris in preparation for rebuilding.

3. Assess land safety

You’ll need a professional assessment of the stability of your land. Wildfires can weaken soil and kill roots. These unseen changes to the ground can make it more susceptible to flooding, erosion, mudslides, and other drainage issues. After a fire, the soil may also retain contaminants and chemicals.

People looking to rebuild after a fire in Maui or Los Angeles may need to have their land recontoured, soil recompacted, or have retaining walls built.

4. Inspect the remaining structures

If any part of your home survived a fire, you’ll need a structural engineer to evaluate it and make sure it’s structurally sound.

Can you rebuild on a foundation after a fire? Walls or foundations may appear to be intact, but framing materials, steel reinforcement, and materials in the concrete may have been weakened in the extreme heat.

5. Hire an architect and a contractor

Work with an architect who has experience in post-wildfire construction and specialized expertise in designing for fire resilience. They’ll reduce ember collection points, select fire-resistant materials, design defensible spaces, and recommend active defense solutions.

It also helps to have contractors with local expertise. To rebuild after a fire in Los Angeles, you want to work with a licensed contractor who is familiar with current building codes, permitting and inspections protocols.

Be wary, as unlicensed contractors flock to areas after a disaster to take advantage of people who are tight on cash and desperate to move forward quickly.

6. Apply for a building permit

When your planning is done, your architect or contractor will usually submit the building permit on your behalf. For a Maui or Los Angeles rebuild, expedited permitting, especially for like-for-like replacement homes, can help you speed through this process.

If you have a good architect and contractor, your plans will meet or exceed wildfire safety standards and changing codes, so you can get permits quickly.

Planning your site and landscape 

Put thought into planning and creating defensible space when rebuilding after a wildfire.

Choosing the right plants, keeping them away from structures, and spacing them to prevent a dense fuel supply will help protect your home. Keep in mind that even firewise plants can burn if not properly maintained, so choose species you are willing and able to care for. Also, minimize the use of wood mulch, flammable fencing, and other combustible garden structures.

Xeriscaping can play a role in Zone 0, but the goal isn’t to strip the area bare. Rather, it’s to limit combustible materials within the first five feet of the home. Everyday items like doormats, patio cushions, toys, and parked vehicles can act as ignition sources and should be kept well away from exterior walls as part of a well-designed, low-risk Zone 0 space.

Adding an integrated active system, like exterior sprinklers and automated suppression, adds another layer of protection against embers.

Hardening your home during a rebuild

You can design fire resistance into your home. When rebuilding a house after a fire, choose designs and materials that reduce the structure’s vulnerability to wildfires.

Because embers are one of the most common ways homes ignite during wildfires, features like sealed eaves and non-combustible building materials are proven, passive ways to harden your home and lower the risk of ignition.

Concrete walls, metal roofs, and tempered glass windows resist heat and ignition.

When it comes to rebuilding after a wildfire, these approaches will provide long-term fire protection that pays off for years to come.

Building with active fire defense technology

Active fire defense systems add a critical layer of protection to your home by responding to wildfire threats in real time, even when you aren’t home. Unlike passive measures alone, these systems are designed to actively reduce ignition from embers and radiant heat during a fire event.

The best active defense technologies use live monitoring to detect approaching wildfires and automated sprinklers to suppress embers around the home, especially in Zone 0, where embers are most likely to ignite vulnerable materials. These systems can activate automatically and be controlled remotely before, during, and after a wildfire, helping protect your property even when evacuation is required.

The Frontline Wildfire Defense sprinkler system represents the most advanced version of this approach. Beyond automated detection and ember suppression, Frontline systems are designed with additional safeguards, including backup power, dedicated water sources, and remote activation. These added layers ensure the system continues operating even when infrastructure and utilities fail, providing a higher level of resilience when it matters most.