In November 2018, the Camp Fire, the most devastating wildfire ever seen in California, was moving quickly and producing a lot of smoke as it spread through the Sierra Nevada foothills. It only took a few hours for the fire to completely destroy the town of 26,000 people, leaving schools, businesses, and 11,000 homes in ruins. When Singer was told to evacuate, he initially thought it was a false alarm. However, as flames started to approach his property, he quickly left town just in time. Paradise had been completely destroyed. Eighty-five individuals perished, and over 90% of the population was forced to leave. Following this tragedy, around 4,000 residents have since returned to the devastated area to start anew and take their chances once more. Singer is one of those who have returned, but now he is reconsidering his decision. In this ecosystem covered in chaparral, rebuilding after a fire has long been a customary practice. However, with the state facing a severe climate crisis, including record-breaking wildfires and a devastating pandemic, the rebuilding process in California is taking on a new shape. In 2020, as millions of Californians were placed under a second lockdown due to a surge in COVID-19 cases, the state also saw over 4.2 million acres burned by nearly 10,000 fires. This has led to a division in the state, with Northern California dealing with multiple megafires while Southern California, particularly Los Angeles, is now the epicentre of the pandemic with the highest number of cases and deaths in the nation. California is currently facing a housing shortage and low interest rates which have led to record high home prices. The median cost of a single-family home in the state surpassed $700,000 in August and continued to rise in September. Despite the increasing cost of new homes, homeowners are facing even higher costs when it comes to rebuilding after a fire. The number of home rebuilds in California is decreasing due to factors such as contractor shortages, pressures on the rental market, and the escalating climate crisis. New construction permits in the state have been declining for the past two years, following a period of steady growth after the 2008 recession, as California grapples with an affordable-housing crisis. The number of new home construction permits in California reached 120,000 in 2018, then dropped to 110,000 in 2019. A home in Malibu was destroyed in a wildfire on December 30, 2020. With the state facing a severe climate crisis, including extreme temperatures and wildfires, the rebuilding process is evolving. The California Industry Research Board, which tracks construction and permit activity, is expected to release its 2020 numbers in February but estimates that only 103,670 housing units were issued last year. As California faces a severe climate crisis with soaring temperatures and devastating wildfires, the rebuilding process is evolving. The board does not monitor permits for fire-related losses, making it challenging to analyze the impact of wildfires on homebuilding. However, the decrease in rebuilds statewide, along with the rise in fires, indicates a growing trend of homeowners opting to move on rather than rebuild after a disaster. This shift raises an important question for the future. The shortage of contractors in the state is causing delays for homeowners trying to rebuild after disasters like the Camp Fire. Despite expectations of an increase in permits, there hasn't been much progress. Insurance companies often provide large payouts, but finding a contractor available to start rebuilding can take up to a year and a half. This has led to many homeowners abandoning their plans to rebuild. The only exception to this trend is in areas with highly valuable land, such as Malibu, where rebuilds are still proceeding steadily after the Woolsey Fire in 2018. The entire city was evacuated and 650 high-value homes, including those owned by celebrities like Miley Cyrus, Gerard Butler, and Robin Thicke, were destroyed. However, over a third of these homes now have permits to rebuild, compared to just over 10% in Paradise. Michael Nourmand, president of Nourmand & Associates, compared rebuilding after a fire to someone getting a shark bite but still surfing. Despite the challenges, most people in LA are planning to rebuild. California's strict fire-safe building codes implemented in 2008 require reinforced roofs, fire-resistant walls, and landscaping with non-flammable plants, making it easier for those with deep pockets to rebuild. In 2011, the state mandated that all single-family homes must have sprinkler systems installed. This requirement can add $20,000 or more to the costs for homeowners wanting to rebuild older homes. Those who opt to rebuild often have to find temporary housing in the rental market, further straining an already inflated housing market with high demand. This situation ultimately impacts the state's most vulnerable residents, leading to a 16% increase in homelessness in California in 2019, with over 150,000 residents now without homes. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is anticipated that those figures will increase. James Ryan, the president of Time for Homes, an organization committed to eradicating chronic homelessness, stated that when numerous homes are destroyed, residents are forced to relocate, resulting in higher rental prices and a decrease in affordable housing. Governor Gavin Newsom's eviction ban, designed to safeguard tenants from losing their homes due to pandemic-related challenges, will expire on February 1st. However, despite the moratorium, some reports suggest that evictions are increasing during the pandemic. Ryan mentioned that there are always individuals who fall through the cracks, leading to forced evictions and a growing number of people searching for alternative housing options. This situation is creating a housing shortage, resulting in a shift of population towards California's rural areas. For example, in El Dorado County, located east of Sacramento, sales increased by 28% in 2020, in contrast to a slight decline in Sacramento. However, the Inland Empire, consisting of Riverside and San Bernardino counties, is experiencing rapid growth and has not been as severely affected by large fires as other major metropolitan areas in California. The COVID-19 pandemic has also contributed to an increase in this trend, with the median home prices in Riverside and San Bernardino counties being significantly lower than Orange County and Los Angeles County. Job growth in the Inland Empire is strong, making it an attractive option for families affected by fires looking to rebuild elsewhere. "It is also difficult to determine the exact reason for this trend. There has been a significant migration towards areas such as the Inland Empire, Joshua Tree, and Palm Springs. It is hard to say whether this is due to people wanting to avoid fire risk or simply seeking more affordable housing options. This trend has been ongoing since around 2010," Dunmoyer explained. However, not everyone can afford to move away from fire-prone areas, especially in a state with a severe housing shortage. Following the Camp Fire, Singer and his wife, Shannon, have been living in a rented apartment in Chico, located around 20 miles away. They are dealing with various challenges such as insurance, zoning, construction, and planning as they work to rebuild their home. Additionally, they have established a nonprofit organization called Paradise Stronger, using their expertise in fitness coaching to provide mental health support to residents affected by the disaster. Originally, they were dedicated to participating in Paradise's comprehensive recovery plan, which involves rebuilding the entire city with more parks, green spaces, fire-safe landscaping, and improved evacuation routes and warning systems. However, the 2020 fire season introduced new terms like "megafires" and "hot drought," as well as the practice of preventive power shut-offs due to fire-whipping winds. In October, the Singers once again had to evacuate their property as a fire approached and had already caused significant damage. Singer, 43, stated that the area that was evacuated first during the recent incident was the exact location where their home would have been. He mentioned that all that could be seen was smoke, causing rampant PTSD. Singer explained that his wife expressed her reluctance to rebuild and questioned if that was still the place where she wanted to be. He mentioned that he is willing to stay and contribute to the town's vision, but not if it means sacrificing his marriage. The couple has decided to temporarily halt their rebuilding plans, which include constructing a smaller, fire-resistant home on their current property. This project is estimated to cost $250,000, with $100,000 coming out of their own pockets. They were given $145,000 for the building that caught fire; similar to almost 60% of American households, they discovered afterwards that their insurance coverage was insufficient. Some insurance companies have stopped offering policies in areas considered too risky: The California Department of Insurance reported in October that refusals to renew home insurance policies increased by 31% statewide in 2019, and by 61% in ZIP codes with a high fire risk. Some new developments have started implementing resilience measures into their construction plans in areas prone to wildfires. Rancho Mission Viejo in Southern California, the largest new community in the state located in Orange County, has been in development since 2001 on 23,000 acres of land. It will eventually have 14,000 homes (including 6,000 for residents over 55), with plans to preserve 75% of the open space. Fire resilience is a core principle in the construction of the community, which has implemented numerous wildfire prevention measures well in advance of state and local regulations. The Urban Land Institute recently recognized the community in a report, along with the town of Paradise, as a model for other communities impacted by wildfires. In Rancho Mission Viejo, each neighborhood is surrounded by a 110-foot-wide fuel modification zone, where flammable vegetation has been replaced with fire-resistant plants. Specific plant species are not allowed, and construction materials are noncombustible. Automatic fire sprinklers have been required in every home long before it became a state law in 2011. The additional cost of fire-safe modifications during construction has decreased significantly. Initially, these modifications were adding between $4,000 and $10,000 to the cost of each home, but now the cost has dropped to as low as $1,000. Jay Bullock, vice president for planning and entitlement at Rancho Mission Viejo, explained that this decrease is due to fire-safe methods becoming more common. Mike Balsamo, senior vice president for governmental relations at Rancho Mission Viejo, emphasized the importance of building safely in high fire hazard zones for a sustainable future, stating that there is a playbook for achieving this. "We have the ability to establish a community that is as safe from fires as possible." - © 2020 New York Times News Service.