Building in Pacific Palisades after the fire

Pacific Palisades sits in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, and since the January 2025 fire nearly every deck going in here is part of a rebuild. That changes what you're allowed to build.

As of January 2026, California consolidated its wildfire-zone construction rules into the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code, Title 24 Part 7. It replaced Chapter 7A of the building code and Section R337 of the residential code. Same requirements, new home.

What the code regulates is the walking surface, meaning deck boards and stair treads, not the framing underneath. And the bar isn't a flame-spread number off a spec sheet. The deck surface has to come from a product carrying a California State Fire Marshal listing, tested under SFM Standard 12-7A-4. That test puts burning embers on the deck instead of only measuring how fast flame travels across it, because embers are what actually take decks in a wildfire.

That catches people out, because "Class A" appears on a lot of marketing pages. Plenty of decking products carry a valid State Fire Marshal listing and were never given the Class A test at all.

Decking we build with that carries a State Fire Marshal listing: TimberTech AZEK Vintage and Landmark, both listed Class A with no conditions attached. Kayu Batu, also called Red Balau, listed Class A with no conditions. Ipe is listed too, but it depends entirely on the supplier. One brand carries Class A, another Class B, another was never tested. The species alone tells you nothing.

Trex Transcend, Select, Transcend Lineage and Refuge are all listed, but each carries a condition: the exterior wall covering next to the deck has to be noncombustible or ignition-resistant. Trex Enhance isn't listed at all, which makes it a perfectly good board for Encino and a red line on a Palisades permit. We check the specific product against the State Fire Marshal's building materials listing before it goes on a material schedule, not after plan check flags it.

The terrain is its own problem

Palisades lots run steep. Castellammare, the Highlands, Marquez Knolls, the canyons off Sunset. Most decks here are elevated, which means real footings, engineered framing, and often a waterproofed assembly over living space below. The code also requires the underside of an elevated deck to be enclosed to grade with compliant material, and that's a detail that gets missed until inspection. Lots closer to the coast can fall inside the Coastal Zone as well, which adds a layer of review on top of the LADBS permit.

We've been working these hillsides since 1995. If you're rebuilding and want a straight answer about what will and won't pass, call (818) 345-2866.