California Law Creates Standards for Testing and Remediating Wildfire Smoke

On Tuesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a package of legislation to strengthen California’s long-term wildfire recovery system, building on the state’s work with survivors of the Eaton and Palisades fires, and producing tools for wildfire survivors across the state.

The new laws create first-in-the-nation standards for testing and remediating hazardous wildfire smoke contamination for future fires and require insurers to cover qualifying smoke-damage testing, remediation and restoration. The bills also permanently extend mortgage forbearance protections for disaster-affected homeowners. 

In the wake of the 2025 firestorms, families and communities continue to rebuild after the Eaton and Palisades fires. These new protections will make insurer obligations clearer and give homeowners more financial flexibility when they need it most. As fire seasons across the West become a year-round reality, California’s commitment to recovery must be just as enduring, the government said.

The California Department of Insurance estimates that more than 13,000 of the roughly 40,000 insurance claims filed after the January 2025 fires involve smoke damage to homes that never burned. Until now, no state in the country had enforceable standards for how those homes should be tested, cleaned or restored.

Assembly Bills 1642 and 1795 direct the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and the California Air Resources Board to develop the state’s first protections for testing, remediation and restoration of lead and asbestos contamination from wildfire smoke, for homes within a fire’s zip codes. The bills require DTSC to issue guidance to help schools recover after a wildfire. The legislation also requires insurers to pay for lead and asbestos testing and remediation in smoke-damaged homes within a wildfire zone, cover full cleanup and restoration to pre-loss condition and bars insurers from cutting off Additional Living Expense coverage until a home is actually remediated and safe to occupy.

“AB 1642 will set a new national precedent on scientific standards for clearing a home for occupancy after a wildfire,” said California Assemblymember John Harabedian. “Science, not an insurance company’s opinions, will determine whether a home is safe. AB 1842 creates a national model for granting mortgage forbearance to future wildfire survivors, so no family has to immediately pay a mortgage for a home that no longer exists. AB 1847 extends the Mortgage Relief Act (AB 238, Harabedian) for an additional year for survivors of the Los Angeles Fires who are still desperately trying to rebuild.”