Altadena, after January 2025
Altadena rebuild electrical.
Altadena is unincorporated county, Edison territory, and rebuilding at a scale no neighborhood in Los Angeles has seen. County Line Electric wires Eaton Fire rebuilds for builders and owner-builders: county permits, SCE service, a complete electrical system to current code, and backup power planned in.
Talk to a Rebuild ElectricianBuilders: request a bid
Call (805) 499-0823. CA Lic. #949580.
- SCEService
- LA CountyPermits
- Current codeNot the 1920s one
Generac product imagery. Generac is a trademark of Generac Power Systems.
The situation
County permits, Edison service, and houses that were a century old.
The Eaton Fire destroyed thousands of homes in Altadena in January 2025, many of them Craftsman and mid-century houses whose electrical systems dated to their construction. Rebuilding runs through Los Angeles County, which permits the unincorporated community through its Public Works, Building and Safety division and set up a rebuild program for fire-affected lots. Power is Southern California Edison, which is both restoring service and under scrutiny for its equipment in the foothills, and whose shutoff policy in wind events is the backdrop to every rebuilt house.
County Line Electric wires Altadena rebuilds as the electrical sub to builders and directly for owner-builders. It is a Ventura County company, about an hour and a half away, and it staffs Altadena jobs in phases, on site for the full rough-in and the full finish. It took on this work because the demand for licensed electrical contractors who will carry a whole rebuild outran what the local market could supply.
The sequence
From a cleared lot to the county final.
- 01
SCE application
Temporary power now, permanent service later, filed as soon as the plans exist. Utility lead time sets the schedule.
- 02
Temporary power
A temp pole or pedestal for the foundation and framing crews, inspected by the county.
- 03
Service and panels
A new service sized for a 2025 house: generator or battery, EV charging, induction, heat pumps. The old 60 or 100 amp service is gone with the house.
- 04
Rough-in to current code
Arc-fault and ground-fault protection throughout, energy code lighting, EV-ready circuits, low-voltage pathways.
- 05
Backup power
A Generac standby generator or a battery system with a critical loads panel, planned into the service rather than added later.
- 06
Finish and final
Fixtures, devices, programming, the county final inspection and a labeled panel.
Plain speaking
What County Line will and will not say about an Altadena rebuild.
- It will give you an itemized electrical proposal from the plans, with inclusions and exclusions listed.
- It will file with SCE and the county early and tell you what they say, not what you hope.
- It will not give insurance or legal advice, and it is not affiliated with the county, the utility or any program.
- It will not quote a rebuild without seeing the plans and the lot.
- 30 yrsIn the electrical tradeJeff Tucker has run County Line Electric in the Conejo Valley since the 1990s.
- #949580California contractor licenseLicensed, bonded and insured. Check it on the CSLB site any time.
- 24 hrsGenerator estimatesA written standby generator estimate within a day of the site visit.
- $600Twice-yearly generator serviceBoth visits, for the year. Jeff's comparison: the large installers quote the same service at about $1,000.
Altadena rebuild questions
Who issues electrical permits for an Eaton Fire rebuild in Altadena?
Los Angeles County Public Works, Building and Safety, through the county's rebuild program for fire-affected properties, because Altadena is unincorporated. Electric service is restored and connected by Southern California Edison. County Line Electric files with both as part of wiring an Altadena rebuild.
Does County Line Electric wire Altadena rebuilds for owner-builders?
Yes. County Line Electric works directly for homeowners acting as their own general contractor on Eaton Fire rebuilds, as well as for builders as the electrical subcontractor. Either way the scope runs from temporary power through the county final inspection.
Should an Altadena rebuild include a generator?
County Line recommends planning for backup power on every Altadena rebuild. The foothills are subject to Southern California Edison shutoffs during wind events, and a Generac standby generator or a battery system with a critical loads panel is far less expensive to build into the new service than to retrofit.
Related
Temporary power
The first thing on the lot, and the first thing to file for.
Nothing happens on a cleared lot without power for the foundation and framing crews, and in the Palisades and Altadena the utility application for temporary service is the long lead item. County Line files it as soon as the lot address and the plans exist, sets the temporary pole or pedestal to the utility's standard, gets it inspected, and keeps the build moving on temporary power while the permanent service works its way through LADWP or SCE. When the permanent service is energized, the temporary comes out and the credit for it is on the final invoice.
Working with the adjuster
What County Line gives you for the insurance file.
County Line does not give insurance advice. What it gives is paperwork an adjuster can use: an itemized electrical proposal that separates the like-for-like replacement of what the house had from the code upgrades the new permit requires and from the improvements the owner chose. Those three categories are treated differently by most policies, and a proposal that lumps them together costs the owner money on both ends. The company has prepared that split for rebuilds in the Palisades, Altadena, Malibu and the Mountain Fire area and will prepare it again for yours.
Keep the permit record, the inspection cards and the final. They are the proof the work was done to code, and they travel with the house.
Official references
Where the facts on this page come from.
County Line links to the authorities rather than restating them. Rules change; these pages are current.
- Los Angeles County recovery: the Eaton Fire rebuild program
- LA County Building and Safety: permits
- SCE Public Safety Power Shutoffs: the foothills
- CSLB license check: license #949580
Next step
Rebuilding in Altadena? Tell us where the lot is.
Name, phone, city and a line about the project. The office calls back, and a site visit is scheduled if it makes sense. No pressure, no sales script.
Or call (805) 499-0823. Monday to Friday, 9 to 5.