LOS ANGELES — A blizzard engulfed Michael Kovac’s house as the Palisades fire approached. …As thousands of residents in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades prepare to rebuild homes demolished in last month’s firestorms, Kovac’s house could serve as an example. Constructing a fire-hardened home is not only within reach for most fire victims, experts say, it’s in the building code. Unless Gov. Newsom suspends fire-safety rules, all new homes in areas designated as very-high fire risks zones or abutting to wilderness must be built to one of the nation’s most stringent set of fire-resistant standards, known as the WUI code. Adopted in 2005 and gradually strengthened over the past 17 years, the wildland-urban interface building code requires new homes to include flame-repellent designs and materials. While studies show fire-hardening improves the odds of a home’s survival, some fire victims are wondering how much extra it will cost.