A fire came through my area. What do I do now.
The fire is out, or it’s moved on, and now you’re trying to figure out what just happened to your property — and your life. This page is for the days and weeks immediately following a wildfire event. It covers what to check first, what rights you have right now, and how to move through the system without making the situation worse. If you lost your home or are uncertain whether it’s still standing: the steps here are for you. If your home survived with damage: most of this page still applies.
Immediate safety first
Do not return to a property in a mandatory evacuation zone until official clearance is given. Structures that survived a fire may still be structurally compromised, have contaminated water, contain hazardous ash materials, or present electrocution risk from downed power lines. CAL FIRE, San Diego County OES, and your local fire agency will announce return access. Monitor: ReadySanDiego.org and SDEmergency.com.
In the first 24–72 hours
Contact your insurer immediately — even before you know the full extent of damage
Call your insurer or broker as soon as you can safely do so and report that a wildfire event has affected your property or area. You don’t need to know the full damage picture to open a claim. Opening a claim starts the clock on your rights — including ALE (Additional Living Expenses) coverage — and documents the date of first notice. Ask the insurer for: (a) your claim number; (b) the name and contact information of your assigned adjuster; (c) immediate advance payment for ALE if you have been displaced. California law requires insurers to pay at least two weeks of ALE benefits to evacuees without requiring itemized documentation. Ask for this specifically and in writing.
Start documenting everything — starting today
Before you return to the property — or as soon as you safely can — begin documenting. Everything. Your phone is your most important tool right now. Photograph: every structure from all four sides; every room inside the structure if safely accessible; every piece of outdoor equipment, vehicles, and outbuildings; fencing and landscaping; access routes; and anything that shows the extent of damage or loss. These photos are dated and geotagged automatically. Do not delete them for any reason. If you lost items before you could document them, write down everything you can remember about your contents, room by room, as soon as possible.
Secure the site and mitigate further damage
Your homeowner’s policy typically requires you to take reasonable steps to prevent additional damage to the property after a covered loss. This is called the “duty to mitigate.” If your roof was damaged and rain is forecast, cover exposed areas with tarps. If windows are broken, board them. Keep receipts for everything. These temporary repair costs are almost always covered under your policy and should be documented and submitted to your insurer. Contact a licensed contractor for safety assessment before entering a structurally damaged structure.
In the first two weeks
Understand your ALE rights fully
Additional Living Expenses covers temporary housing, food above normal costs, furniture rental if needed, transportation costs above normal, pet boarding, and other costs that arise from not being able to live in your home. California law requires advance payment for at least four months of ALE — meaning you should not be financing temporary housing out of pocket while waiting for your insurer to catch up. If your adjuster is slow to authorize ALE payments, escalate to your insurer’s claims supervisor and reference this requirement explicitly. Document every displacement-related expense with receipts.
Get an independent rebuild or repair cost estimate
Do not accept the insurer’s initial valuation of your dwelling loss without independently verifying it. Hire a licensed contractor who works in fire-affected areas to produce an independent rebuild or repair cost estimate for your specific structure. Post-fire construction costs in affected areas typically run 20–40% above normal regional rates due to labor and materials demand. If the insurer’s estimate is lower than the contractor’s estimate, this difference becomes the basis of your claim dispute.
Protect against contractor fraud
After a major wildfire event, unlicensed contractors and fraudulent repair companies follow the fire. Warning signs: contractors who approach you unsolicited at evacuation centers or at your property; requests for large upfront cash payments; pressure to sign contracts immediately; no California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) license number. Verify any contractor at cslb.ca.gov before signing anything. Use only licensed, bonded contractors for post-fire work. Report fraud to the CSLB at 800-321-2752.
In the first month
Know your claims dispute rights
If your insurer’s settlement offer is less than your independent estimate of losses, you have formal dispute rights. Most policies include an appraisal provision allowing you to hire an independent appraiser to dispute the insurer’s valuation — without going to court. If you believe your claim is being handled in bad faith (unreasonable delays, unjustified denials, inadequate offers), file a complaint with the California Department of Insurance at 800-927-4357 or insurance.ca.gov. You can also request free CDI mediation for residential property claims.
Invoke your SB 495 contents rights
SB 495 (effective January 1, 2026) requires insurers to pay 60% of your contents coverage limit (Coverage C), up to $350,000, after a total loss, without requiring a room-by-room inventory. You have at least 100 days to provide proof of loss after a declared state of emergency. If your insurer is requiring a complete itemized inventory before releasing contents payment, cite SB 495 directly. This is a new right and not all insurers have updated their procedures to reflect it.
Engage free survivor resources
Two legitimate free organizations exist specifically for California wildfire survivors: (1) The California Department of Insurance Wildfire Insurance Recovery Resource Center at insurance.ca.gov — provides free claims guidance and can intervene with insurers; and (2) United Policyholders at uphelp.org — a nonprofit with sample demand letters, claims guides, public adjuster referrals, and free attorney referrals for California wildfire survivors. Both organizations have worked with East County property owners following San Diego wildfire events.
Once you can return — the property assessment
After a fire comes through an area, the vegetation management that survived may no longer provide the same defensible space function — burned shrubs, scorched trees with dead crowns still standing, and debris accumulation change the fuel picture significantly. Before the next fire season, the defensible space zones around surviving structures need to be re-evaluated from scratch. A professional wildfire risk assessment at this stage gives you a documented baseline for both compliance and insurance purposes, and — critically — identifies new vulnerability pathways created by the fire’s passage.
Fire science: why re-assessment after a fire matters
Post-fire landscapes are not safe landscapes. The fire removes competing vegetation and leaves standing dead fuel — snags, torched shrubs, ash-covered root systems — that can carry fire intensely when they dry. In San Diego’s East County, chamise and manzanita chaparral resprouts aggressively after fire, reaching significant fuel loading within 3–5 years of a burn. The year immediately after a fire often has lower risk as fuels are depleted, but within 2–4 years the regenerating chaparral presents elevated fire risk again. Documenting your baseline now positions you to manage the next cycle proactively.
Key things to know
You have the right to request your risk score even now. Under California’s Safer from Wildfires regulation (Insurance Code 2644.9), you have the right to request your wildfire risk score from your insurer at any time — including post-fire. If you’ve done mitigation or restoration work, you can request a re-evaluation.
SB 824 protects you from non-renewal after a disaster declaration. SB 824 prohibits insurers from canceling or non-renewing residential policies in ZIP codes covered by a Governor’s wildfire state of emergency declaration for one year following the declaration. Contact CDI at 800-927-4357 or insurance.ca.gov.
AB 888 grants may be available for rebuilding with fire-safe features. AB 888 — the California Safe Homes Act, effective January 1, 2026 — funds grants for fire-safe roof replacement and Zone 0 noncombustible zone creation. Contact the California Department of Insurance at 800-927-4357 or insurance.ca.gov.
Cal Wildfire Defense
After a fire, know exactly where your property stands.
After a fire, a professional wildfire risk assessment from Cal Wildfire Defense establishes your current defensible space baseline, identifies new vulnerability pathways created by the fire’s passage, and produces the documentation you need for both insurance negotiations and compliance going forward. This is what we do. We work with fire. We’ve seen what fire does to these properties. If you’re in East County and you’re trying to figure out where you stand, call us · 619-949-3814.
This page provides educational context, not legal or insurance advice. Insurance regulations, claims procedures, and legal rights change. Always verify current requirements with the California Department of Insurance or a licensed professional before acting. Last reviewed April 2026.