Newsom signs laws requiring wildfire smoke cleanup coverage, expanding mortgage relief

Gov, Gavin Newsom signed four bills into law Tuesday aimed at helping wildfire survivors get their homes cleaned up, secure insurance coverage for smoke damage and obtain mortgage relief. The package includes new standards for testing and cleaning up wildfire contamination, requirements for insurers to cover qualifying smoke-damage testing and remediation, and mortgage protections for disaster survivors. Newsom signed the bills in Altadena, surrounded by survivors of the Eaton and Palisades fires. “These new protections will make insurer obligations clearer and give homeowners more financial flexibility when they need it most,” Newsom said. “As fire seasons across the West become a year-round reality, California’s commitment to recovery must be just as enduring.” For Jane Lawton Potelle, executive director of Eaton Fire Residents United and owner of a standing home in the Eaton fire impact zone, the protections grew directly out of survivors’ experiences and advocacy. Potelle has yet to return to her home. Assemblymember Mike A.

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