A year later, Valley fire’s massive toll in Lake County means long, difficult recovery ahead
COBB - Burned trees stand like blackened toothpicks on the seared hills of southern Lake County, where one year ago this week, an almost unstoppable inferno raged across the land.
Everywhere are scars of the devastating Valley fire, which exploded in a terrifying, wind- and drought-fueled run to torch 40,000 acres in the first 12 hours and burn 76,000 acres in all as it spread from the mountain community of Cobb to Anderson Springs, Middletown and Hidden Valley Lake.
It would take at least four lives and consume nearly 1,300 homes, becoming the third-most destructive wildfire in California history.
Along Highway 175, a curving ribbon of new asphalt connecting the hardest-hit neighborhoods, abandoned mailboxes line driveways leading to still-vacant lots. Standing gates and bird baths hint at the houses lost in the blaze.
Victims who returned live in motorhomes, trailers and, in a few cases, tents. At its height, the fire displaced more than 20,000 people. The forest that once shaded and sheltered many of their neighborhoods has been decimated. Cut, charred timber is piled along the road.
The blaze erupted during an already epic fire season and it was followed last month by the Clayton fire, a smaller yet still-destructive blaze authorities said was started by a suspected serial arsonist from nearby Clearlake. That fire once again shattered nerves and reminded residents of their fragile existence in the fire-prone region.
“No other county has seen the intense destruction Lake County has seen firsthand,” said state Sen. Mike McGuire, who estimated nearly a quarter of the county had been touched by fire in the past 13 months.
Rebirth amid ruin
Yet amid the unprecedented ruin, estimated at $1.5 billion in losses, there is rebirth. New construction rises from bulldozed lots. The sound of pounding hammers can be heard as contractors clamber over rooftops. Patches of green foliage poke from scorched ground.
Lake County Supervisor Rob Brown looked across fire-ravaged Cobb Valley near where the blaze started and considered the future. Over the next decade, the hope is that scenes of heartbreak and destruction will give way to fortitude and rejuvenation.
“It will heal,” said the longtime Kelseyville resident, standing outside his pickup on the site of the destroyed Cobb Mountain Community Fellowship church.
But there is much work to be done given the scale of the destruction, which wiped out whole residential blocks, ruined key businesses and placed life for thousands of Lake County residents into limbo.
Sheriff Brian Martin described the fire as the “worst tragedy” the county has ever seen. In some cases, recovery is uncertain.
Obstacles to rebuilding
Nearly 2,000 buildings were destroyed in the blaze, including 1,281 homes. It was sparked Sept. 12, 2015, authorities say, by faulty wiring to a hot tub at a Cobb-area home.
Insured losses totaled $840 million, the state Department of Insurance reported. As of June, insurance companies have paid out about $500 million on 3,500 residential and commercial claims.
Numerous obstacles stand in the way of rebuilding.
Many damaged homes were older, vacation-style cabins constructed without regard for modern fire-safety and septic standards. A large number of the 192 houses lost in Anderson Springs, for example, would now be deemed too close to the creek to accommodate septic systems, so rebuilding for many will be delayed until a new $7.5 million wastewater system is in the works. Others were on tiny, oddly configured lots where current setback requirements can't be met.
28 percent uninsured
In addition, many residents simply cannot afford to construct new homes. About 28 percent of those who lost homes were uninsured, said Carol Huchingson, Lake County's chief administrative officer. People have left the county in search of jobs and housing, but it is unclear, based on county figures, exactly how many. Others have moved to neighboring communities - or even out of the county - because they can no longer face the vast destruction the fire wrought.
The trend is driven in part by job and housing shortages in the aftermath of the fire, which increased the price of the remaining homes and rental units. At the same time, a glut of burned-out lots has softened land prices. Many have been listed in the $20,000 to $32,000 range, down significantly from going rates before the fire.
“People bought elsewhere and decided not to rebuild,” said Cobb real estate broker Timothy Toye, whose office windows are covered with new listings. “They are starting to put their lots on the market.”
But others are staying. A county survey last February of 350 people who lost their primary residences indicated more than half planned to rebuild. So far, the county has issued about 200 residential building permits for traditional and manufactured homes. Many more are in the pipeline. Construction appears mostly spread among Cobb, Gifford Springs, Middletown and Hidden Valley Lake.
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