Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday announced $10 million in additional funding Friday to help Los Angeles-area fire survivors access factory-built housing to help speed up rebuilding.
Following the governor’s executive orders to streamline project approvals, local agencies have OK’d over 3,100 rebuilding permits at a rate about three times faster than prior to the fires, officials said. Some fire survivors who have used modular housing or other prefabricated options are living in new homes.
Details on factory-built options for speedier rebuilding are available from the rebuilding tool the state launched with LA Rises, the state’s recovery initiative. Officials said the prefab designs aim to maintain the unique character and style of recovering neighborhoods.
“Rebuilding after wildfires shouldn’t take years,” Newsom said in a statement. “As LA fire survivors continue to recover, we’re cutting red tape by accelerating housing solutions that get families back in their homes faster while building stronger and more resilient housing for the future.”
Existing state funding can help survivors acquire factory-built homes that “are built off-site in controlled, high-efficiency facilities and delivered ready for installation,” according to the governor’s office. The program’s third round of funding makes available an additional $10 million, and the application period will open at a “soon” but unspecified date.
Officials encouraged companies and nonprofits developing factory-built housing in the Los Angeles area to apply, in addition to local governments, tribes and other entities.
“Factory-built housing helps communities move from loss to stability faster,” Erin Curtis, executive director of the California Strategic Growth Council, said in a statement. “By shortening construction timelines and reducing costs, it can help get families back into their homes and neighborhoods sooner and give wildfire-impacted communities a real chance to recover and rebuild early — when support matters most.”
The governor’s office described factory-built housing as more than a temporary solution that is a “forward-looking tool” for reconstructing neighborhoods quicker and more sustainably. In an effort to get residents rehoused as soon as possible, areas of focus include streamlined and low-waste production, durable, fire-resistant materials and climate-adaptive designs.
Arya Group recently completed construction of Versa Villa in Pacific Palisades that includes factory-built precision steel and was completed less than six months from permit issuance, officials said. The builder reports that the home is designed to be fully autonomous in responding to wildfire threats, protected by four to six hours of fire-resistant materials, an exterior sprinkler system with on-site water reserves and tanks and an around-the-clock autonomous defense system that forecasts, detects and responds to wildfire conditions in real-time.
State officials highlighted the experiences of several Altadena and Palisades residents with factory-built and modular houses, noting streamlined permitting leading to swiftly completed structures.
“Factory-built housing can help wildfire survivors get back into safe, stable homes faster,” Tomiquia Moss, secretary of the state Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, said in a statement. “This program is an important tool to help communities rebuild quickly and more sustainably, while also improving resilience to future climate impacts and disasters.”
Katherine Perez, chief development officer for the nonprofit New Economics for Women, said in a statement, “This type of housing will be part of the solution to getting wildfire victims back to their homes and re-introducing rental housing into Altadena. We lost so much naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) in Altadena, and that loss hit our seniors, low-income families, and veterans especially hard. These investments reflect what our community needs to move forward.”
On Jan. 7, 2025, Newsom issued an emergency proclamation to help streamline state laws and make resources more quickly available. Over the next 12 months, this order would be followed by 28 executive orders based on feedback from survivors, local communities, and first responders to help target resources, accelerate recovery, and remove red tape, officials said.
As of late January, out of 6,612 applications received, 3,106 rebuilding permits have been issued by agencies LA County and city, the governor’s office reported. Comparatively, a year after the 2018 Camp Fire — which like the Eaton and Palisades fires destroyed thousands of homes — 385 permits were issued. In Maui, construction on the first home did not begin until almost a year after the devastating fire there in 2023.
Newsom repeated his call Friday for federal assistance for wildfire survivors with a fourth request for funding. He traveled to Washington, D.C in early December to advocate for fire survivors, renewing his call for immediate approval of disaster legislation and urging Congress and President Donald Trump “to deliver the same compassion and urgency that have been extended to other communities across the nation” that have suffered large-scale disasters, officials said.
Federal government money for long-term recovery is “critical” to
- “Fund the rebuilding of schools, childcare centers, homes, and vital community facilities;
- “Keep small businesses open, support the economy, and maintain jobs; (and)
- “Restore damaged water systems, rebuild responder infrastructure, and improve air quality monitoring,” according to state officials.
LA County’s online portal for fire recovery resources is at recovery.lacounty.gov.
HeySoCal.com also provides a fire recovery guide.