Gov. Gavin Newsom stepped up his intervention on the California Coastal Commission on Monday, chiding the agency for providing “legally erroneous guidance” that threatens to create confusion and delay the rebuilding efforts for wildfire victims in Los Angeles County.

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The new order directs the commission not to issue guidance or take any action that interferes with or conflicts with the Newsom’s previous executive orders. The order also expands temporary housing for all L.A. County’s firestorm survivors, loosening the rules for hotels and short-term rentals to more than 30 days.

“As the state helps the Los Angeles area rebuild and recover, we will continue to remove barriers and red tape that stand in the way,” Newsom said in a statement. “We will not let our over-regulation stop us from helping the LA community rebuild and recover.”

Also see: Satellite image shows whole communities destroyed by Palisades fire

The order on Monday follows an earlier order to suspend a pair of coastal environmental laws, waiving the California Environmental Quality Act and Coastal Act requirements, as well as a subsequent order issued Jan. 16 to streamline the building of accessory dwelling units to assist in creating more temporary housing.

Newsom acted after commission guidance said that rebuilds in the burn areas are subject to Coastal Act exemption provisions and procedures. Newsom reiterated that all permitting requirements under the California Coastal Act are suspended.

A CCC spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump meet residents as they tour a fire-affected area in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 24, 2025. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) 

Three days after the Los Angeles fires began on Jan. 7, Steve Hudson, a district director with the Coastal Commission who works with several Southern California counties, said that his team was reaching out with local governments and their staffs to assist in the recovery efforts.

Hudson, district director for parts of Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties with the CCC, explained in an interview that homeowners are permitted to rebuild under the Coastal Act what they had prior to the fires, “provided that the development would be in the same footprint,” and not go over 110% of the size of the original structure.

The additional 10% in the size of the building structure would require an exemption from local governmental entities, he said.

“There’s no prohibition on rebuilding larger, but that would trigger a coastal development permit,” said Hudson.

The burn areas affect three different jurisdictions for the Coastal Commission, including the city of Los Angeles for the Palisades area, a portion of Los Angeles County near Topanga, and the city of Malibu. Hudson explained that Los Angeles County and Malibu jurisdictions have local coastal zoning programs certified by the commission.

Thousands of homes are destroyed by the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, CA, on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG) 

The Jan. 7 fires in area Los Angeles area have been the most destructive in the region.

The Eaton Fire in Altadena scorched more than 14,021 acres, and was 98% contained on Monday. The Palisades fire spanned more than 23,448 acres and is 94% contained. Fire officials have verified 6,662 structures were destroyed in the Palisades fire and 9,418 in the Eaton fire. The Hughes Fire, which was first reported in the Castaic area on Jan.22, is 95% contained with 10,425 acres burned.

The latest order by Newsom also mobilizes debris removal and cleanup with an eye toward recovery, and permits federal hazmat crews to start cleaning up properties as a key step in getting people back to their properties safely and to mitigate the risk of mudslides and flooding by hastening efforts to remove debris.