Rebuilding a Roof After the Eaton or Palisades Fire

This page covers the roof of a house being rebuilt in Pacific Palisades, which is in the City of Los Angeles, or in Altadena, which is unincorporated Los Angeles County. Other burned areas, such as Pasadena, Sierra Madre and Malibu, have their own building departments and rules. The wildfire code's roof sections are explained one by one in California's WUI roofing requirements; none of this replaces a review of your lot by the building department. Hiring for the rebuild, and the disaster rules on licenses, prices and contracts, are covered in roofing scams after a fire or storm.

Where a lot is in a fire hazard severity zone (how to check an address), the rebuilt roof has to have:

• A Class A roof assembly, tested as a system or on the code's short list; on a wood deck, tile and most metal count only as a tested, listed assembly (how to check a listing).
• Protection under profiled coverings. Where tile or metal leaves an air space over the deck: a 72-lb cap sheet or a tested Class A underlayment, bird stops at the eaves, and hips and ridges set in mortar.
• Metal valleys over a cap sheet, noncombustible gutters with a way to keep debris out, and eaves of noncombustible, ignition-resistant or otherwise protected construction.
• Listed ember- and flame-resistant vents for the attic and roof.

In the City of Los Angeles new wood shake isn't allowed anywhere (LABC 91.1505.1), and IBHS doesn't accept wood roofs for its Wildfire Prepared Home designation. What the 2025 fires showed about roofs that burned and roofs that held is in fire-resistant roofs in Los Angeles.

• at least 250 square feet of roof reserved for a future solar system;
• wall space, inside or out, reserved for the future equipment;
• a pathway reserved for conduit between the electrical service and that roof area;
• an electrical service of at least 200 amps, with space for a two-pole breaker for the future system.

An ADU built as part of rebuilding the main house gets the same exemption and the same solar-ready requirements. The City's guidelines for Executive Order No. 8 state the same: the solar requirements are suspended and solar ready applies.

For the roof, that means deciding at the design stage where the 250 square feet go, keeping that area clear, and choosing a covering that panels can be attached to later. Panels can still go on during the rebuild; the order only removes the obligation.

• Pitched roof (steeper than 2:12): aged solar reflectance of at least 0.25 and thermal emittance of at least 0.85, or a Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) of at least 20.
• Low-slope roof: aged solar reflectance of at least 0.65 and thermal emittance of at least 0.85, or an SRI of at least 78.

The exceptions are mostly for re-roofing part of an existing house, so a rebuilt house's new roof is generally covered. Los Angeles County lists "not including cool roofing requirements" among the common errors on fire-rebuild applications. The rated values differ from one color to the next, so check the exact product and color in the Cool Roof Rating Council's listing before you choose. How the state's own cool-roof rule works on a re-roof is in the cool-roof requirement.

• City of Los Angeles. Under Emergency Executive Order No. 1, an eligible rebuild sits in substantially the same location and doesn't exceed 110% of the old footprint and height; any part of it may be rebuilt to the old height plus no more than 10%. A stairway housing of up to 72 square feet, an elevator housing and a chimney (by 5 feet) may project above that limit. A rebuild that goes beyond that can use the City's second streamlined path, Executive Order No. 8, which applies the zone's own height limits, or the normal process.
• Altadena. Under the County's Eaton Fire interim ordinance, adopted September 2, 2025, a like-for-like rebuild can be as tall as the old house, or as tall as the zone allows if it doesn't add a story, and may expand by 10% or 200 square feet, whichever is greater. Interim ordinances are extended and amended, so check the current version.

A steeper pitch, a higher ridge or a new roof deck for a view can push the house over these limits, so the roof's height belongs in the first design conversation, not the last.

Code sections, rules and figures on this page come from the primary sources below. Codes, local requirements and product terms change; each was verified October 9, 2026.

1. Executive Order N-29-25, July 7, 2025
2. Office of the Governor, Six months after the LA fires (July 7, 2025)
3. Executive Order N-4-25, January 2025
4. City of Los Angeles, Implementation Guidelines for Emergency Executive Order No. 1, version 4.0 (June 11, 2026)
5. City of Los Angeles, Implementation Guidelines for Emergency Executive Order No. 8
6. Los Angeles County, Executive Order N-29-25 implementation handout
7. Los Angeles County, Fire Rebuilds: Common Errors
8. Los Angeles County, Major Developments in the Building Codes for Single-Family Dwellings and Duplexes
9. Los Angeles County, Eaton Fire Disaster Interim Ordinance summary
10. Los Angeles County Recovers, Rebuild Policies, Interpretations and Exemptions
11. City of Los Angeles, Ordinance No. 187208 (cool roof, LAMC 99.04.106.5)
12. Los Angeles County, Cool Roof Ordinance (Title 31), 2019
13. California Department of Insurance, Rebuilding With Wildfire Safety & Insurability, March 2026
14. Los Angeles Building Code 2026, Chapter 15, 91.1505.1 (UpCodes)