They thought about taking their insurance payout and going to another community. They also considered buying a smaller home somewhere else in
But the Kilcullens ultimately decided that they loved their
"We just said to ourselves 'Where else would we go?'" said
The Kilcullens' decision to rebuild -- celebrated with a bottle of bubbly and a blessing earlier this month -- has brought a welcome sign of life to a neighborhood that, nearly eight months after the fires, has just 16 homes under construction.
Their decision also runs counter to the prevailing narrative that older residents are proving less inclined to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous rebuilding costs. The assumption has been that, with fewer years left to enjoy their homes and less interest in tackling daunting task of rebuilding, many older residents of Fountaingrove would put their lots up for sale and move on.
But the Kilcullens, who are in their early 80s, were undeterred by the prospect of rebuilding. They knew it would be difficult, and it has proven so. Wrangling the project to this point -- foundation work began last week and they hope to move in 10 months later -- has taken every bit of energy they and their daughter,
And yet
"I don't know what they are waiting for, the sky to fall?" Kilcullen said.
A number of factors tipped the scales in favor of them rebuilding. Their insurance through
As the first people to rebuild a home in her neighborhood, Kilcullen said they may seem like an anomaly, but she predicted the pace of rebuilding will pick up soon. Her committee, the
"We should be seeing a lot more homes going in this summer," she predicted.
Water hookups may be allowed
Recovery from the October wildfires, the most destructive and deadly in state history, has been steady, but the rebuilding effort -- particularly in Fountaingrove -- slow.
The fires took 40 lives and burned a total of 6,190 homes in the region, more than a third of them in the city of
Of the 266 homes in
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