Rebuilding After the Fires

The October 2017 Wine Country fires decimated neighborhoods -- there's no other way to put it. Afterward it looked like a coordinated bombing campaign had happened. Once the shock wore off those affected had to start the rebuilding process. They were warned it would be a marathon, not a sprint. But instead of 26.2 miles it's starting to look more like a hundred.

First, let's get this out of the way -- the entire county didn't burn down. I haven't found hard numbers, but by wild-ass guessing maybe eight percent of the county burnt. Most of that was forested and grassy hillsides because those are what burns easily and what is the most difficult to get firefighting equipment into (planes were used here). Most of the hillsides were let go with lines set up near communities.
  

Rebuilding in the Fountaingrove neighborhood of Santa Rosa
image from pressdemocrat.com

  
But what about rebuilding? There were plenty of lessons and surprises.

• Most people were under-insured because they didn't have replacement value home or business insurance. It's not just that values went up since they originally bought their home, but you'll find the construction industry working off supply-and-demand though there is a law about  raising prices after a disaster.
• It was thought you could tear down a structure and keep the foundation and it would be relatively painless to just rebuild the same home on the same footprint (permits are easier if there are no changes). It turns out a really hot fire will damage the concrete foundation, too.
• In the Fountaingrove neighborhood of Santa Rosa the heat penetrated down to plastic water delivery pipes that melted and released benzene. Long-term exposure is toxic. Soils are also contaminated. It turns out burning homes release a lot of toxins.
• Some people have given up and are leaving. Nearly 300 burnt lots are for sale or have been sold. Right now the lots seem pretty expensive, but they may come down if they don't sell off quickly. I don't think anyone knows what a bare city lot like these should sell for anyway so people are just guessing at their value.
• Immediately after the fires the local officials were estimating it would take a couple years to rebuild the housing. I don't know if anyone believes that now. I would think all of it will never be rebuilt and the structures being replaced will take many years to complete. There are money problems plus hassles with insurance companies, permits, contractors and environmental issues.

However, with all of these problems life and work are continuing on the same for the vast majority of residents.