Crews work to restore utilities and install underground lines in the Eaton and Palisades fire zones, California.
California (Eaton and Palisades fire zones), August 16, 2025
The governor issued an executive order temporarily suspending state-level CEQA and California Coastal Act reviews for utility work restoring electric, gas, water, sewer and telecommunications infrastructure in the Eaton and Palisades fire zones. The move aims to shorten permitting and environmental review timelines to accelerate utility restoration and encourage undergrounding where feasible. Officials say the order complements earlier waivers, but rebuilding still faces major challenges including skilled labor shortages, materials and transformer supply limits, high construction lending costs, insurance barriers, and local permitting delays. Environmental groups call for balanced safeguards as recovery proceeds.
State leaders have temporarily suspended two major environmental laws for utility work in areas hit by recent Los Angeles wildfirestorms to speed the restoration of electric, gas, water, sewer and telecommunications infrastructure. The move aims to accelerate cleanup and help displaced residents return home, while officials and industry experts say rebuilding will still face serious obstacles including shortages of skilled trades, material bottlenecks, high construction lending costs and insurance gaps.
The state executive order removes the need for compliance with CEQA and the California Coastal Act for utility projects in the Eaton and Palisades burn zones. Officials say the suspension applies to infrastructure work needed to get communities back on line faster and encourages undergrounding utility equipment where feasible to reduce future fire risk. An effort is already underway in some areas to move lines underground, and the order is intended to ease permitting for more such projects.
Emergency response remains focused on debris removal and sheltering tens of thousands of people displaced by the twin firestorms, which together burned nearly 48,000 acres and damaged or destroyed more than 16,000 structures. That total included more than 9,500 single-family homes, roughly 1,200 duplexes and about 600 apartments. The deadline to enroll in the federal debris-cleanup program administered by the Army Corps of Engineers has been extended to April 15, and some multifamily buildings now qualify for that assistance.
Even with permitting sped up, rebuilding faces several big, practical challenges. Skilled labor is in short supply nationwide, and California has long run into particular shortages of plumbers, electricians, carpenters and HVAC technicians. About 400,000 trade jobs are open at any time in the U.S., and roughly 40% of current construction workers are expected to retire by 2031, making the labor gap a multi-year issue.
Materials are another constraint. Transformers and other critical electrical components are in tight supply, and lumber prices, while lower than their pandemic peak, could rise again if demand surges and tariffs on imported Canadian lumber are imposed. Developers and analysts caution that a big rebuild could push certain material prices substantially higher within a year.
Financing is also a significant barrier. Builder lending rates remain elevated, reported in the range of about 10% to 12% even after broader interest-rate easing, which raises costs for contractors and slows projects. Homeowners must also contend with insurance shortfalls. Some insurers are withdrawing from high-fire-risk areas, leaving many relying on the state-backed insurer of last resort; that program recently required an additional $1 billion call on member companies, a move that will raise property insurance costs statewide. Without adequate insurance, many homeowners cannot secure mortgages needed to rebuild.
The suspended laws normally require agencies to identify and reduce environmental impacts from construction, and they provide public input opportunities. Supporters of the suspension argue the change will streamline work on utilities and resilience upgrades. Critics say blanket waivers risk long-term environmental harm and that better coordination, not broad exemptions, would protect waterways, coastal resources and climate resilience.
Under existing rules, many rebuilding projects were already exempted from full environmental review, and CEQA typically only triggers a full analysis when a rebuilt structure expands by more than 10% in floorspace. Still, some infrastructure upgrades — such as undergrounding lines or installing water storage for firefighting — can prompt lengthy environmental studies. Past reviews of the system have found that preparing a full environmental impact report can take a year or more and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Faster utility restoration could help residents return more quickly and reduce risk of future fire starts. Land values in many affected neighborhoods remain high, making some sites attractive for redevelopment. That may prompt some homeowners to accept buyout offers from developers instead of rebuilding, especially when offers outstrip insurance payouts or when the process of rebuilding is seen as onerous. Data from local permitting showed more than 800 homeowners had applied for rebuild permits by early July, but fewer than 200 had been approved, and the city’s average approval time for a wildfire rebuild is around 55 days.
To address the skilled-labor gap, philanthropic and corporate programs are investing in trades education. One national foundation committed a portion of a recent wildfire relief fund to support post-secondary trades training, aiming to expand the pool of trained workers who can support rebuilding. Advocates say long-term workforce development is essential if the state expects fast, resilient reconstruction.
Environmental nonprofits and coastal protection groups are urging balance: they acknowledge the need for speed but emphasize the importance of soil and water testing, defensible-space rules around homes and smart siting to reduce future risk. Lawmakers are also seeking faster rules for ember-resistant defensible-space zones that experts say might have reduced damage in the recent fires.
The suspension of environmental review for utility rebuilding removes a major administrative hurdle and could speed restoration and undergrounding projects in the short term. However, skilled labor, materials shortages, high builder lending rates, insurance and financing gaps mean that rebuilding communities leveled by the fires will be a complex, multi-year effort. Planners say success will require combining faster permits with strong environmental safeguards, expanded workforce training and creative financing to ensure homes and infrastructure are rebuilt to be safer and more resilient.
It should shorten permitting timelines for utility projects, particularly for restoration and undergrounding of lines. However, other bottlenecks such as labor, materials and high construction lending rates will still slow full community rebuilding.
The order applies to utility infrastructure work in the specified fire burn zones where recent fires caused major damage. It is aimed at projects that restore electricity, gas, water, sewer and telecommunications.
The suspension is focused on utility infrastructure in the affected zones and builds on earlier orders that eased reviews for rebuilding homes and wildfire prevention work. It is not a blanket removal of environmental law across the state.
Key challenges include shortages of skilled tradespeople, constrained supplies of materials like transformers and lumber, elevated construction loan rates, insurance coverage gaps and lengthy local permitting for complex rebuilds.
Public and private programs are investing in trades education and training to expand the pool of electricians, carpenters, plumbers and other skilled workers needed for reconstruction.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Legal change | Temporary suspension of CEQA and Coastal Act for utility rebuilding in the fire burn zones. |
| Primary goal | Speed restoration of electric, gas, water, sewer and telecommunications services and enable undergrounding. |
| Immediate needs | Debris removal, shelter and enrollment in federal debris-cleanup programs; right-of-entry deadline extended to April 15. |
| Main barriers to rebuild | Skilled labor shortages, material scarcity (including transformers), high builder lending rates, insurance and financing gaps. |
| Scale of destruction | Nearly 48,000 acres burned; more than 16,000 structures damaged or destroyed (including 9,500+ single-family homes). |
| Workforce response | Investments in trades training programs to grow skilled labor capacity for rebuilding. |
| Environmental concerns | Advocates urge targeted reviews and testing to protect waterways, coastal areas and climate resilience while rebuilding. |
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