We lost our house to a fire a couple of weeks ago and are now thinking forward to our rebuild and I am wondering if y'all think an arborist would likely be able to determine if some of the live oaks are likely to survive or not. At least one of them has some damage from the fire but I'm also worried about several others that might have some trauma from the demolition process. These are all mature trees... guessing mostly 15-20" in diameter.

Of course we want to keep them if they are still viable but if they are likely to die then removing them now would give us a lot more flexibility on the new house layout. I suppose some of it may come down to if we have any rain this year.

Did they put up construction fence around the perimeter of the tree canopy so the big equipment doesn't damage the roots?

No. The city of SA notified us we had 96 hours to demolish the remaining structures after the fire because it posed such a hazard so they had to hurry.

Condolences on the house. Hope you all are whole. Stuff is just stuff.

I used Bartlett a long time ago to try and save a crappy builder oak. They were easy enough to work with. I don't think it cost me anything to have them come out and look. Might be worth a shot.

Arborist would know more than anyone else when up close & personal with those trees
but
most oak tree damage is not visable/realized until ~3 years later

Since it is documented that live oaks survive fires, even used in rows as a fire block,
my course of action would be (sans a pro's advice) to assume the best, then outline future growth perimeters.
A local residential-specialist Architect will be able to design within those limits a Plan tailored to your lifestyle.

Trying to shoehorn an Internet plan into these limitations can be a) frustrating, b) time in search similar to custom designing, c) never fit your lifestyle as well, d) seldom brings Asking Price or start a Bidding War if forced to sell later ... as a custom build would.

One of the oaks took some pretty good damage. I don't know if this was hit by heavy equipment or just debris coming down.

Good suggestion. Thank you.