‘Would you want to live in a war zone?’
Residents wonder how – and whether – to rebuild
PARADISE, Calif. – Thousands of wildfire-weary Californians face financially and emotionally difficult years ahead as they begin rebuilding their homes and communities destroyed by the rampaging flames.
In Northern California, where the Camp Fire still burns, 6,543 homes have been destroyed, along with hundreds of businesses. Near Malibu, the Woolsey Fire has destroyed about 370 structures.
Most evacuees have no idea how their homes fared because evacuation orders keep the public from the dangerous conditions caused by the fires. Though a few people know – including actor Gerard Butler and singer Robin Thicke – most evacuees are stuck waiting for information, begging reporters for updates and trying to finagle their way past road closures.
Matt McNeill, 53, knows his house is gone. It burned down in Paradise as he fled in his car, scooping up neighbors on the way. He has homeowner’s insurance but isn’t sure he’ll rebuild.
A general contractor, McNeill has been building homes in Paradise since
1990. He faces the thought of returning to a community vastly different from the one he fled. The commercial district lies in ruins, dozens of business and municipal facilities destroyed by the fire. Thousands of burned trees will have to be cut down for safety, changing how Paradise looks for years to come.
“Would you want to live in a war zone for a decade or more?” McNeill said by text. “But then, our kids grew up there – great, great memories, beautiful people. Not really sure where life is headed now. Have to really think about that one.”
Authorities have not begun notifying McNeill’s neighbors about how their homes fared, in part because firefighters are trying to control the Paradise and Woolsey fires. Sending in ground-based survey teams is too dangerous.
From thousands of feet in the sky, specialists working for the nation’s insurance companies take photos that building inspectors, assessors and firefighters can use to inform the public.
“Underneath that smoke are people’s lives that have come unraveled,” said Jim Schweitzer, senior vice president and chief operating officer of the Na- tional Insurance Crime Bureau.
The bureau works with insurance companies across the country to fight insurance-related fraud and crime, including vehicle thefts, but also to combat disaster-related fraud. In some cases, contractors perform shoddy work or conspire to get insurance companies to pay for extra work not caused by a disaster, which can bring felony charges and void a homeowner’s coverage.
The stakes are high in the fires, which threaten nearly 50,000 homes valued at about $18 billion, according to property data company CoreLogic. The value of the destroyed homes has not been compiled because authorities don’t have a complete assessment of the damage.
The insurance bureau partnered with imaging company Vexcel Imaging to create the Geospatial Intelligence Center, a not-for-profit initiative of the bureau funded by a consortium of insurers. Technicians take high-resolution aerial imagery of disaster areas with $1.5 million Vexcel cameras.
The GIC’s Colorado-based teams have gone to numerous natural disasters, most recently to the East Coast to image the damage left by Hurricanes Michael and Florence. They fly over the Paradise and Woolsey fires.
The GIC mission includes mapping virtually every home and building in the
“Not really sure where life is headed now. Have to really think about that one.” Matt McNeill, Paradise resident
country, giving insurers “before” photos to compare with post-disaster imagery. The searchable database is initially available only to first responders, recovery agencies and member insurers but will be made public shortly.
“Like it or not, it’s a confirmation. That alone can go a long way to beginning the recovery process,” Schweitzer said. “The uncertainty is gone, and you can move forward.”
The photos also allow insurers to reach out directly to their policyholders to help them with temporary housing and living expenses even before victims have a chance to check on their homes in person, Schweitzer said.
For many who lost their homes, the journey to recovery is just beginning. McNeill said he has been overwhelmed by the generosity of strangers, who gave his family clothes and even a bike for his grandson. His family is adjusting to the loss, he said: “You think, ‘I don’t have that anymore.’ (But it’s) the little things that get you through. Gonna smile our way through it.”
For others, the routine of work provides some level of normalcy, even amid the devastation. Butte County sheriff ’s Deputy Brian Evans, 42, is still on the job even though his house burned down before he could grab anything from it. Wearing his uniform, which is pretty much the only clothing he owns, Evans spent the weekend helping search for missing neighbors and friends.
Rebuilding Paradise won’t be easy, he said. His son’s school burned down, their neighbors all lost their houses, and dozens of the people he served died.
Disasters such as the Paradise and Woolsey fires inevitably change the face of a community for decades. Some evacuees will never return. Some will choose to rebuild elsewhere. Small businesses may go under, and employment may be hard to come by for the thousands of people whose cars were destroyed. Evans said he’s committed to seeing it through. This is his home, after all.
“It will take a while,” he said. “But it will get better. It always does.”