Burned California town shares lessons learned from fire
The town's ordeal from the
"I don't want to sugar-coat anything for you," she said.
Although only 10 houses have been rebuilt in
Many
Although
Debris removal
Before people could rebuild,
Debris removal started a few months after the Woolsey fire was out. The majority of properties were cleared within six months and almost all were cleaned up by the one-year mark, Feldman said.
Most residents opted to take part in the state-directed cleanup effort, but some opted out and tried to take on the task themselves by hiring haulers. However, those who clean up hazardous waste must be licensed and able to take the debris to a facility that will accept it, she said.
"I get where people are trying to cut costs, but you've got to get it done right," she said.
Feldman said some people wanted to do the cleanup themselves in hopes of saving their house foundations. However, the concrete and rebar were often damaged by the heat of the wildfire.
Unscrupulous haulers who weren't qualified to remove the debris took advantage of some residents, she said.
For the
It's not yet clear who will pay to remove the rest of the debris, although local officials are lobbying for outside funding to help cover what property owners and insurance policies can't.
Feldman said the volume of debris that had to be removed for
The
"It's mind-boggling the amount of trucks that will come into your communities to clear these properties," Feldman said.
Temporary housing
Many
With the rental vacancy rate hovering near 0% in
"We didn't have quite the housing crunch I've seen here in
For
Local government officials and community members are working to identify parcels of land where temporary utilities could be put in to serve displaced residents living in trailers. The
He said about half of the structures lost to the
Fire resilience
Both the
The city of
"We're disaster central. We frequently burn," Feldman said.
But the Woolsey fire was only one of three major fires that broke out that day in
As the fire advanced toward
The fire was 14 miles wide and wiped out more than 2,000 power poles. People weren't able to get the reverse 9-1-1 system's calls, texts and emails, and they couldn't watch warnings on television, Feldman said.
She said she was working in her area's emergency operations center, unaware the public wasn't getting the evacuation alerts.
It was only the actions of those on the ground that saved people's lives -- not the alert system, Feldman said.
The traffic signals on the highway out of
The
After the fire in
On the rebuilding front,
Many residents are choosing to rebuild with metal roofs and siding, and a new staff person who advises people on fire resilient landscaping has been a popular addition.
"We all want to be fire-safe communities. This is our new reality," Feldman said.
During the Woolsey fire, hundreds of neighbors helped fight the fire.
Feldman said local communities have to be more prepared to deal with wildfires and the recovery process. The public sometimes thinks
"The threat of fire never ends," Feldman said.
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