LAKE COUNTY >> More than half — 55 percent — of those who lost homes in the Valley Fire plan to rebuild.
That figure was determined from a survey conducted by the Valley Fire Long-Term Recovery Task Forces from data collected in February. The study was released on Thursday.
With the help of FEMA and the Lake County Department of Community Development, it determined that 1,395 households were affected by September’s destruction. Through emails, phone calls, and online surveys, they were able to attain 350 responses from people who lost their primary residence.
“It’s consistent with what we heard anecdotally,” Long-term Recovery Coordinator and future County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson said about the report. “It means that we need to be poised for a big surge in permit requests and reconstruction.”
The report found that more than 60 percent of the people planning to rebuild are in early planning stages or obtaining designs. Another large portion is waiting to see if their lots are approved as clean.
However, the rest of them are dealing with insurance issues, particularly to coverage of the debris removal costs. According to Huchingson, the variation in insurance coverages has made this a concern for some homeowners but the Environmental Health Department is encouraging people who are struggling to call it so their worries can be alleviated.
Yet, the biggest hurdle to rebuilding is the financial aspect.
The costs associated with rebuilding either has convinced some of what the study called the “primary target group” to not rebuild (20 percent of the 350) or left them unsure of their next move (24 percent).
“The biggest outstanding issues affecting rebuilding are insurance issues, lack of financial means, permit issues and septic/sewer issues,” the report said, noting that these reasons were also popular with the unsure group. “Secondary reasons are they do not find the area attractive anymore, they have issues with the permit process and code requirements, and did not like the response to the fire.”
Money problems are also preventing many small business owners from getting back on their feet.
According to the report, self-employed individuals were one of the most impacted sectors in the Valley Fire and 2/3 of home-based businesses have not been able to resume operations due to financial troubles and a loss of clientele.
Additionally, 33 percent of households had a job loss and only 10 percent of those unemployed by the fire have found new employment.
But even though they may not rebuild or may not, more than 67 percent of victims still live in the county. Most of them are renting other housing and some, 10 percent, have bought another home.
“We were happy to see that so many Lake County residents have been able to find alternate housing Lake County, “ Long-term Recovery Coordinator Carol Huchingson said. “We will be able to use this data from the survey to help the county focus our attention on areas that are concerning our residents, and find solutions to make the rebuilding process easy for them,”
Due to the high response, the report claimed that the results came with 95 percent confidence level and a 5 percent margin of error. Thus, they can apply the data to the entire population of survivors.
