What LA’s Wildfires Reveal About Clean Rebuilds

The January LA wildfires destroyed more than 18,000 buildings and helped push climate-driven fire risk into brutal focus. A later analysis found climate change made those fires 35% more likely. At the same time, the region’s gas utility is quietly paying survivors to reinstall fossil gas.

That clash captures a core tension in green technology right now: communities are ready to electrify and build safer, smarter homes, while legacy fossil systems are still wired into our incentives, our regulations, and our habits.

This matters because rebuilding after a disaster is one of the few moments when a whole neighborhood’s energy system gets redesigned from scratch. If we miss that window, we “lock in” gas infrastructure for 20–30 more years. In a warming, fire-prone West, that’s not just bad climate policy. It’s a safety and public health failure.

This article looks at the LA wildfire rebuild through a green technology lens: how utilities are steering choices, what all‑electric rebuilds actually offer, and where AI and smart systems can help communities push for cleaner, safer, more resilient homes.

How LA’s Wildfire Rebuild Turned Into a Battle Over Gas

LA wildfire survivors qualify for thousands of dollars in SoCalGas rebates if they rebuild with gas appliances. Those rebates don’t come from corporate philanthropy. They’re funded by utility customers through a state energy efficiency program.

Under the Residential Energy Efficiency Fire Rebuild program, eligible homeowners can get:

• About $600 for a gas patio heater
• Around $750 for a gas fireplace insert
• Roughly $2,250 for a gas tankless water heater

The utility’s regulator, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), says this is technically allowed. The commission previously decided that wildfire rebuilds should be treated like retrofits, not “new construction,” meaning gas efficiency rebates can still apply.

Here’s the problem: those same regulators already admitted years ago that gas incentives risk locking in long-lived greenhouse gas emissions. Advocates like Earthjustice and Sierra Club warned that continuing these subsidies—especially after wildfires—is backwards. They pushed to phase out gas rebates and prioritize efficient electric alternatives like heat pumps and induction cooktops.

Instead, wildfire rebuilds were carved out as an exception. So CalGas kept a powerful marketing tool: cash on the table if you stick with gas.

The reality? If you’re traumatized, navigating insurance, and just trying to get your home back, a few thousand dollars in rebates looks reassuring. It feels like a signal: “this is the normal, safe, approved choice.” That’s exactly why this kind of incentive is so influential—and why it deserves scrutiny.

Why All‑Electric Rebuilds Make More Sense After Fire

Most communities facing wildfire risk would be better off going all‑electric when they rebuild. Not just for the climate, but for cost, health, and safety.

1. All‑electric can be cheaper to build and operate

Research from UC Berkeley on the LA fire recovery found that all‑electric homes are often cheaper to build than mixed-fuel homes. You avoid:

• Running gas lines and paying connection fees
• Installing and venting combustion appliances
• Future costs of replacing gas equipment as standards tighten

Operating costs are shifting too. As solar, battery storage, and efficient heat pumps scale, electric heating and hot water become increasingly cost-competitive with gas, especially when combined with:

• Rooftop solar
• Smart thermostats and home energy management systems
• Time-of-use electricity rates

AI is starting to play a role here. Smart home platforms can now forecast your energy use, optimize when your water heater runs, and coordinate EV charging so you stay within lower-rate periods. When you electrify, these tools open up; with gas, they don’t.

2. Air quality and health are non‑negotiable

Gas appliances don’t just emit carbon; they pollute your kitchen and living room. Multiple studies have linked gas stoves to higher indoor levels of nitrogen dioxide and increased childhood asthma risk.

With all‑electric:

• Induction cooktops don’t emit combustion pollutants
• Heat pump space heaters and water heaters keep combustion outdoors entirely (because there isn’t any)
• You’re less exposed to leaks and combustion byproducts

For wildfire survivors already breathing smoke, dust, and construction debris, building back with cleaner indoor air should be an obvious choice.

3. Fire and earthquake safety improves without gas

Gas lines are a fire hazard. They explode, leak, and get damaged in earthquakes and wildfires. Every buried pipe and every gas meter is another piece of flammable infrastructure that can fail under stress.

All‑electric homes:

• Eliminate the risk of gas leaks after earthquakes
• Remove ignition sources during wildfires
• Simplify shutoff protocols—there’s no gas to isolate

Groups like Resilient Palisades in LA get this. Wildfire survivors there are choosing prefab, all‑electric homes, paired with microgrids, native landscaping, and fire-resilient design. They’re not doing it because it’s trendy. They’re doing it because gas explosions and toxic indoor air are the last thing they want to rebuild into their lives.

How Utilities Use “Efficiency” to Keep Gas in the Game

Here’s the thing about so‑called “energy efficiency” incentives for gas: they’re not neutral. They’re a retention strategy for fossil fuel infrastructure.

SoCalGas argues it’s just offering more efficient versions of gas appliances. Regulators frequently frame this as incremental improvement: a better furnace here, a more efficient water heater there.

But if you zoom out, the effect is clear:

• Every gas rebate encourages customers to install long‑lived gas equipment
• That equipment locks in emissions and pipeline demand for decades
• Networks become harder to retire, even as climate policy demands deep decarbonization

In policy circles, this is called “infrastructure lock‑in.” Once you’ve spent thousands on a gas system and regulators have approved pipelines based on that demand, unwinding it is politically and financially painful.

Meanwhile, the same utility has actively fought clean alternatives. In 2025, SoCalGas helped lead a campaign to derail proposed rules that would have set targets for zero-emission space and water heaters in Southern California. The campaign included ghostwritten letters for local officials, misleading talking points, and heavy lobbying. Regulators ultimately rejected the rules.

If you’re trying to understand why the gas system isn’t shrinking as fast as climate science says it must, this is the pattern: subsidize more efficient gas under the banner of “efficiency,” while slowing or weakening policies that would shift customers to electric solutions altogether.

Where Green Technology and AI Can Actually Help Communities

So what’s the alternative path? For communities rebuilding after wildfires—or any climate disaster—you want a package of green technologies that work together:

Smart, all‑electric homes as the default

A modern, resilient electric home can include:

• Heat pump HVAC for ultra-efficient heating and cooling
• Heat pump water heaters that can preheat water during low-cost hours
• Induction cooking for fast, precise, zero-combustion cooking
• High-performance insulation and windows to cut loads
• Rooftop solar tied to a home battery where feasible

When these systems are connected to a home energy management platform, AI tools can:

• Predict your daily energy use and optimize for cost or carbon
• Coordinate your battery, EV charging, and large appliances with grid conditions
• Respond to utility signals (or even local microgrid conditions) to support resilience during outages

From a business angle, this is where the growth is. Contractors, technology providers, and energy service companies that know how to design and deploy smart, all‑electric systems are going to win rebuild contracts, resilience grants, and long-term service relationships.

Neighborhood microgrids for fire-prone regions

On the community side, microgrids are becoming a serious resilience tool:

• A cluster of homes, a school, or a critical facility can share local solar and storage
• When the main grid goes down, the microgrid can “island” and keep key loads running
• AI-based controllers balance supply and demand in real time

For a fire-prone canyon or hillside neighborhood, microgrids combined with all‑electric homes can mean:

• Fewer outages during heat waves and fire weather
• Continued operation of medical equipment, communications, and refrigeration
• Less dependence on noisy, polluting diesel generators

Right now, a lot of this technology is available but underused. Rebuild moments—like post‑wildfire LA—are prime opportunities to bake these systems into the design rather than bolting them on later at higher cost.

What Homeowners and Local Leaders Can Do Now

Most companies and agencies get disaster rebuilds wrong. They focus on speed and “getting back to normal,” even when “normal” was unsafe and high-carbon.

There’s a better way to approach this. If you’re in a wildfire-prone area, or you work with communities facing rebuild decisions, here are concrete steps that help shift the default toward clean, resilient tech.

For homeowners rebuilding after fire

1. Ask for an all‑electric design first. Make your architect, builder, or prefab provider start from an electric baseline and justify any gas.
2. Run a total cost comparison. Include:
   • Gas line extensions and connection fees
   • Venting and combustion safety costs
   • Expected fuel prices over 15–20 years
   • Potential for rooftop solar and batteries
3. Prioritize health and safety. Treat indoor air quality and gas leak risk as non‑negotiable design constraints, not afterthoughts.
4. Use smart devices strategically. Add smart thermostats, connected water heaters, and, if possible, a home battery that can respond to grid conditions.

For local governments and community groups

1. Update rebuild guidelines. Encourage or require all‑electric construction in high-risk zones, with clear, simple guidance.
2. Pair requirements with support. Offer design assistance, local contractor lists, and help navigating incentive programs.
3. Push utilities and regulators. Publicly challenge the use of customer-funded incentives to promote fossil gas in disaster areas.
4. Organize at the neighborhood level. Groups like Resilient Palisades show how residents can advocate for electrification, microgrids, and native landscaping that reduces fire risk.

AI tools can help here too—from mapping which homes are suitable for rooftop solar to modeling neighborhood microgrids and optimizing local storage.

Why This LA Fight Matters for the Future of Green Technology

The LA wildfire rebuild isn’t just a local dispute between a gas utility and some frustrated residents. It’s a preview of a national pattern: more climate disasters, more rebuilds, and a recurring question—do we double down on fossil infrastructure, or do we use these moments to accelerate green technology?

The honest answer is that we’re still in a mixed phase. Regulators talk about phasing out gas incentives but drag their feet. Utilities promote efficient gas while fighting heat pump standards. Survivors hear conflicting messages: “go electric for safety and climate” versus “take these gas rebates and get back to normal.”

If you work in clean energy, smart buildings, or sustainability, this is your market moment. Communities are looking for practical, trustworthy ways to rebuild safer, cleaner, and more resilient. All‑electric homes, microgrids, and AI-driven energy management aren’t abstract concepts anymore—they’re the toolkit for getting there.

The question is whether we let legacy incentives shape the next 30 years of infrastructure, or whether we step in, redesign the rules, and make green technology the obvious default.