Altadena, CALIF — More than three months after 16,251 homes and other buildings were destroyed in the Eaton and Palisades fires, rebuilding has begun. Now that burned debris has been removed from lots, both Los Angeles city and county have started issuing building permits.
Among the many decisions homeowners face is whether to rebuild with all-electric appliances or re-install gas ones. California's policy is to transition away from burning climate-warming natural gas in buildings and switching to electric. Climate activists hope to convince homeowners to make that choice, but requiring all-electric homes of people who just had their lives upended by a wildfire is proving challenging.
"I love cooking with gas. I didn't learn how to cook with electric," says Shawn Maestretti, a landscape architect whose Altadena home burned in the Eaton fire.
Maestretti has questions before deciding to rebuild all-electric. He wonders where electricity powering the grid comes from and how climate-friendly it is — federal data for 2023 show about 60% of the state's electricity came from zero-carbon sources. He also wants more information about the benefits of switching to electricity and what it's like to adapt to that change.
"I have questions, naturally, and it's too soon for me to be making decisions about this right now," Maestretti says. He's working with a building contractor, still needs to clear burned debris from his lot, all while continuing to run his business. The question of whether he'll install gas in his new home is just one of many issues he'll need to decide in the coming months.
Electricity mandate or choice?
Almost a third of the greenhouse gases that are heating the planet come from buildings — much of it from burning natural gas in appliances. That's why electrification is a key climate solution. The idea is to switch from climate-warming methane, the main ingredient in natural gas, to electric appliances and heaters powered by an increasingly cleaner grid.
Organizations concerned about climate change are pushing Los Angeles policy-makers to rebuild without gas. A few of them created a coalition called Rebuild LA S.A.F.E. (secure, affordable, fast and electric).
In the wake of the fires, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued an executive order to speed permit approvals for homeowners who planned to build a home similar to what they'd lost — including reinstalling gas appliances. But two months later, in a win for climate advocates, she updated that to speed permits for people who choose all electric in their rebuilt homes.
That still leaves gas as a choice for homeowners, despite a 2022 city ordinance that requires only electricity for most new buildings. Sticking with that "would be ideal," says Aleksandar Pavlović, president of the environmental nonprofit Resilient Palisades.
His family also lost their home in the Palisades wildfire. "Our house was a total loss. We went back to it several days after the fire, and all that's standing now is just a chimney," Pavlović says. His family plans to rebuild without gas but does not think others should be required to make that same choice.
Savannah Bradley agrees. She co-founded Altadena Recovery Team, which also is part of the Rebuild LA S.A.F.E. coalition. "We understand that in a time of crisis when people — all they're looking for is stability, it's really hard to sometimes present what may be a new idea," Bradley says.
Instead, the groups hope to convince as many as possible to choose only electricity. Bradley says this is an easier argument to make if homeowners had already been thinking about getting rid of gas before the fires.
Switching from gas to electric requires planning
Jaime Rodriguez lived in his Altadena home for two-and-a-half years before the Eaton Fire destroyed it.
"The house was a two bedroom, two bath — great for myself and my daughter," Rodriguez says. Standing in the driveway, he points to where the garage used to be and remembers evacuating in January.
"I had a classic BMW M Roadster in there and, unfortunately, I could only take one of the cars with me," he says. With the remains of the burned car now hauled away and plans to clear his land of debris, Rodriguez says he'll build a more climate-friendly home.
"I plan on rebuilding what's called a passive home," Rodriguez says — referring to an air-tight building style with plenty of insulation that reduces the home's energy consumption.
Rodriguez started converting gas appliances to electric ones before the fire. He replaced a gas furnace with a more efficient heat pump and says that's saved him money. He looks forward to cooking with an electric induction stove, which uses magnetism to heat food, and avoids some of the health concerns scientists warn about.
When it comes to electrifying his home, Rodriguez says the devastating fire also is an opportunity. "I'm a big advocate of building back better, and building back better is without gas," he says. But he doesn't want to force his neighbors to do that too. "People have lost so much and I wouldn't want to take anything more away," Rodriguez says.
For people who've never considered converting to an all-electric home, the decision to do that now can be more difficult.
A mile down the hill from Rodriguez — past the burned elementary school — Lupe Sanchez's home is still standing but she says the roof was damaged in the fire. There's a blue tarp on top and water damage inside from a rainstorm.
Sanchez says switching to all-electric appliances never occurred to her.
"I haven't heard anything about that at all," Sanchez says. Asked if gas service is important to her, she says, "Well, yeah, that's how I cook. That's how I had my dryer running, you know, on gas."
Sanchez says she prefers to cook with gas, "I don't like electric stoves." And she's not considering a switch now.
Gas utilities have used tobacco-style tactics for decades to undermine science that points to potential health risks with gas stoves. That's helped utilities avoid regulation and, at the same time, they've boosted the popularity of gas cooking with a marketing campaign.
Climate advocates still hope to convince homeowners, like Sanchez, to rebuild with electric appliances in coming months. The California-based group Building Decarbonization Coalition is providing information and technical help.
"Many of these homeowners have never built a house — never intended to build a house. And now they find themselves having to make thousands of individual decisions that they never thought they would have to make," says Beckie Menten, California director for the coalition.
One of their more compelling arguments is that electrification can save money.
"We estimate that you can save somewhere between $7,000 and $10,000 [in construction and appliance costs], by building an all electric home as opposed to a dual-fuel home," she says. That argument was recently bolstered by a report from the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment at University of California Berkeley.
Among the potential savings, a house rebuilt with only electric appliances doesn't need new gas pipes installed throughout the home. That can save on construction costs, Menten says.
The local gas utility, SoCalGas, did not respond to NPR's interview request. Instead, it offered a statement of support for its customers who are rebuilding. The utility says on its fire website that about half the 30,300 customers initially affected by the fires have had their service restored.
Climate groups hope to convince the remaining customers to give up gas and choose electric appliances instead.
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