Rebuilding a Kitchen After the Eaton or Palisades Fire

Where does the kitchen fit when you rebuild after a fire?

Every rebuild is different, and many families are juggling insurers, temporary housing and school changes at the same time. The general order of work, though, is predictable:

1. 1

   Debris removal and site clearance

   After the January 2025 fires, federal agencies removed household hazardous materials and, on lots enrolled in the government program, cleared fire debris; others used private crews. Any soil work your site needs follows.

2. 2

   Design and permits

   An architect or design-build firm prepares plans; the permitting office for your address reviews them.

3. 3

   Foundation, framing and roof

   The house goes up and is closed in against weather.

4. 4

   Rough plumbing, electrical and gas

   Licensed trades set the sink, range, dishwasher and lighting locations, followed by inspections.

5. 5

   Insulation and drywall

   The rooms take their final shape, and cabinet measurements can be confirmed against real walls.

6. 6

   Cabinets, counters, tile and floors

   Finishes go in, followed by fixtures, appliances and final inspection.

Who issues rebuild permits in Altadena, Pacific Palisades and Malibu?

The fires crossed several jurisdictions, and the permit office depends on the address, not the name of the fire.

Exterior walls, roofs, vents and windows in fire hazard severity zones fall under the wildfire-resistant construction chapter of the California Building Code. Interior kitchen finishes are not governed by that chapter, which gives you broad freedom inside.

When should you choose and order kitchen finishes?

Deciding too late delays the builder; ordering too early leaves boxed cabinets with nowhere safe to go. A cleared lot is not a place to store finishes. This timing works for most rebuilds:

Which kitchen decisions get locked in early in a rebuild?

Some kitchen choices are cast in concrete, literally, months before cabinets arrive. Others can wait until drywall. Knowing which is which takes pressure off the decisions that can wait.

A short session at the showroom during design, to settle the left-hand column, makes the rest of the selections a straightforward visit later in the build.

What if the house is standing but smoke-damaged?

Many homes near the burn areas survived with smoke, soot and ash inside. Cabinet boxes, especially particleboard ones, can hold smoke odor, and fine ash settles inside drawers and under flooring. Before deciding what to replace, work with your insurer and qualified cleaning or environmental professionals to assess the home. Hard surfaces like tile and stone counters often clean well; soft and porous materials are more often replaced.

The fire damage rebuild page covers both cases: full rebuilds and partial replacement after smoke damage.

Gas or induction in a rebuilt kitchen: weighing the trade-offs

A rebuild is the one moment when switching cooking fuel costs little extra, which is why many families ask about it. Rules on gas lines in new construction differ between the City of Los Angeles, LA County and Malibu, and rebuild-specific exemptions have been issued since the fires, so the permit office for your address has the final word. Within those rules, the trade-offs are practical:

• Induction heats quickly, leaves the cooktop surface cooler and puts less combustion pollution into the house. It needs a dedicated 240-volt circuit and enough panel capacity, which your electrician sizes during design, and pans must be magnetic.
• Gas is familiar, and a burner can usually be lit with a match when the power is out. That matters in foothill and canyon areas where the electric utility may switch off power during high fire-risk wind events.
• Ventilation matters either way. A hood ducted outdoors and sized for the cooktop is worth planning into the framing for both fuels.
• Backup power such as a battery system or a generator inlet changes the induction outage question, and is easiest to plan while walls are open.

This is a cooking and comfort choice, not a coverage question. How a policy treats a change of fuel or appliance type is something to confirm with your insurer in writing.

Choosing finishes for a rebuilt kitchen: what the showroom sees

Families planning a rebuilt kitchen often face the decision with little energy left for it. Seeing cabinets, counters, tile and floors together, in one place, keeps the number of decisions manageable.

• Bring photos of the old kitchen, if you have them. Some people want to recreate what they lost; others want something different. Either is easier to plan from a picture.
• Decide on the palette in one sitting. Cabinet color, counter and floor chosen together rarely need revisiting.
• Share the builder’s drawings. Cabinet layouts are drawn from the plans, then confirmed with field measurements once walls are up.
• Plan the whole floor at once. Running one floor through the kitchen and living areas simplifies ordering and installation.
• Choose installation if it helps. The cabinets, counters, tile and flooring you select can be installed on request, coordinated with your builder’s schedule.

Rebuilding in Altadena, Malibu and the Palisades

The North Hollywood showroom is about 32 minutes (23 miles) from Altadena and about 53 minutes (37 miles) from Malibu. Pacific Palisades is part of the City of Los Angeles; the Los Angeles service area page covers it alongside other city neighborhoods. The showroom does not design homes, pull permits or do structural work; it supplies and installs the finishes once your licensed builder is ready.

Next steps for a fire rebuild kitchen

Read the fire damage rebuild page for finish options and timing, and the damage repair overview for water damage and insurance-claim replacement. Verify your builder and each trade on the CSLB license lookup, and keep your insurer’s scope close at hand when you choose materials.