Slow start to fire rebuilds in Sonoma County, but growing number of projects reflect expanding recovery

May 27--When Mike Baker saw the first crop of rebuilt homes rising from the earth of fire-scarred Coffey Park, he realized the structures had a familiar look.

"Almost all of these are floor plans that I recognize," said Baker, pastor at Crosspoint Church in Santa Rosa. The projects included a half-dozen rebuilt versions of his burned three-bedroom home, which had been constructed in the northwest Santa Rosa neighborhood three decades ago by longtime homebuilder Condioitti Enterprises.

Builders and neighbors said it makes sense that the first rebuilt houses in the burned areas would feature relatively few changes to the designs. In contrast, Baker and his wife, Zoë, now are working with architects and engineers to prepare the building plans for their new Keoke Court house, which will add a second story and grow by about 25 percent to nearly 2,000 square feet.

The Bakers hope to break ground later this summer and are willing to take the extra time and effort in order to get the home they want.

Nearly eight months have transpired since the most destructive wildfires in state history ravaged the North Bay. What becomes clearer each month is the rebuild will take far longer than anyone wishes.

In Sonoma County, which suffered the biggest losses of lives and property, fire survivors have received permits to rebuild about 400 homes, less than a tenth of the nearly 5,300 houses, apartments and granny units that burned. The permitted rebuilds nearly equal the number of burned lots that have been put up for sale since the fires.

Despite the relatively slow start, contractors say a wave of rebuilds is coming. And they contend that when it hits, the county will need all the construction workers it can find to meet the demand.

"I think it will be two to three years of just everything that all of us can handle," said Ed Waller, CEO and partner in Shook & Waller Construction of Windsor.

The October fires claimed 40 lives and burned 6,200 homes in a four-county region. Residential insurance claims have totaled about $8.4 billion.

By last week, construction had begun on 223 homes in the burned neighborhoods of the county, local planning officials said.

What can be said about the first rebuilders is they had lived mostly in Coffey Park. They generally are rebuilding a similar home to what they had lost. And they are among the first to locate contractors and settle with insurance companies in order to make sure they complete the rebuild before their rental assistance money runs out, typically within two years.

In Coffey Park, the land today resembles a hodgepodge of a construction zone. Chest-high stacks of wood wall sheathing and various hues of port-a-potties line many streets, while clusters of workers fashion foundations and frame walls. But the rebuild remains scattered across a neighborhood where nearly 1,260 homes burned. You rarely see homes rising on three adjacent lots.

Nonetheless, the neighborhood had 125 homes under construction, or 56 percent of the total for the county last week.

The neighborhood also leads the county in regard to overall rebuilding applications. The city last week reported it had received 276 requests for building permits in Coffey Park, compared to 91 combined in Fountaingrove and Hidden Valley. The county had received 239 applications, with the largest concentration -- 78 homes -- in the Mark West Springs area stretching from Larkfield to the outskirts of Calistoga.

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