Written by Peter Henderson and Chad Terhune
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Karen Miles, 66, emerged from her home in Altadena, California, in the middle of the night, wearing her pajamas, facing a forest of burning red and orange trees and electrical wires falling from utility poles in the street. . Her son, who woke her from a deep sleep, led them to safety.
The fire destroyed her neighborhood this month, and she won't be returning.
“I'm not rebuilding. Oh no. Hell no. That fire took everything from me. I'm going to fly away somewhere, somewhere beautiful. Maybe Colorado,” the retiree said outside the disaster recovery center. She said she had lived in the house for more than 40 years and would miss the friends. But “the fire left me no choice.”
Across Los Angeles on the coast, Pacific Palisades residents Sonya and James Cummings lost a home they bought in 1987 and renovated a decade ago.
“It was with the intention of staying there until we were above ground,” said James Cummings, 77.
Now they see a barren land.
“I worked nonstop for two years building our perfect home,” Sonia added. “We got to the point where everything was perfect. I don't want to do that again.”
Victims of one of the most devastating fires in California history are struggling to decide whether to rebuild, facing a dizzying array of challenges, including high construction costs, years of effort, and the question of whether the tight-knit, especially middle-class, communities of Altadena will rise again. Other.
10,000 buildings burned
One issue facing many is the toxic ash and other pollutants that have blanketed devastated neighborhoods, stretching from building to building. The fires claimed the lives of about 24 people and destroyed more than 10,000 buildings.
A consultant from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health warned: “Ash is like fine, dangerous dust that can be inhaled deep into the lungs and can cause major problems everywhere it falls. It is not just dirt.”
Mark Pestrella, Los Angeles County's public works director, said he is setting up a free program for homeowners to remove hazardous waste.
“We will dispose of the materials properly and deliver the lot to you ready to build on,” he told residents recently, adding that the county will also allow private contractors. State and local officials promise to cut red tape to speed up the reconstruction process.
Many people considering remodeling don't expect it to be that easy or quick.
Altadena resident Shawna Dawson Beer, 50, renovated her venerable home into what she called her “forever home.” She did not recognize her street when she returned after the fire.
“We want to go home, and our homes are gone,” she said. “Only God knows when the cleaning will be done. Only God knows if the cleaning will be done properly. And then you will be around the building and then, fortunately for you, during this whole time you will not have a community. It is gone. They are all uprooted and scattered to the winds.” “.
Her husband, Marcus Beer, 54, points out that they have good insurance on the destroyed house.
“If we go back, are we uninsurable? Because we weren't in the burn zone, but oh boy, hey, now we are.” Realizing they're in the burn zone makes the idea of rebuilding even more stressful.
Jewelry designer Charlotte Deuel, 48, was lucky in one way: Her house survived because her husband stayed to defend it as the fire approached. “It was rented, but it was their life,” she said.
Now what, you wonder. Will the owner keep the house? Do you want to go back to living in the midst of destruction? Will years of construction keep asbestos, lead, and other toxic chemicals in the air?
“You are in the middle of this wasteland,” she said. “Will I make my child wear a mask outside for the next four years?”
Many homeowners fear that they will not collect enough insurance money to cover what they expect to be very high construction costs. Adam Garrett, a 49-year-old Pacific Palisades real estate broker, believes this could be an opportunity for major developers and investors to turn around in a construction process that he believes will take a decade.
However, letting go of society is difficult. Dawson Bear and her husband were about to sign a one-year lease on a house about 100 miles (160 km) away, to give them time to think, but she couldn't do it.
“The thought of leaving everything I knew gave me a panic attack,” she said.
