California Wildfires and Recovery

President Trump signed an executive order directing FEMA and the SBA to issue regulations that would preempt California and Los Angeles permitting rules and allow builders to self‑certify compliance with health, safety and building standards to speed reconstruction of homes destroyed in the Eaton and Palisades wildfires. The action touched off a feud over progress and responsibility — the fires killed 31 people and destroyed roughly 13,000–16,000 structures, federal officials say fewer than 15% of homes have approvals and only a handful rebuilt, while Gov. Newsom and Mayor Bass counter that thousands of permits and hundreds of rebuilds or projects are underway and point to insurance disputes and FEMA funding delays as the main bottlenecks.