It has been just over a year since the Tubbs fire jumped into the city of Santa Rosa and destroyed more than a thousand houses in the city. In the burned-out neighborhood of Coffey Park, that year has brought a lot of change—but much more remains to be done.
The Mercury News has a report (see: "One year after Tubbs Fire, Coffey Park coalesces, Fountaingrove struggles to rebuild," by Julia Prodis Sulek). "The Tubbs Fire killed 22 people and destroyed 5,636 homes and buildings from Calistoga to Santa Rosa," the paper reported. "Few images of California’s devastating 2017 fire season are more iconic than the aerial photos of Coffey Park, a middle-class suburban neighborhood of attached garages and minivans, basketball hoops and American flags, reduced to ash. Five people died, and 1,321 homes disappeared overnight."
"Recovery has been all-consuming at the city," the paper reported, "which hired a contractor to supply hundreds of extra people to review permit applications and built an interactive public website for property owners to monitor the progress of their permits and construction."
Infrastructure repairs have been part of the picture, reported local TV station KTVU (see: "Big milestone reached in Santa Rosa's Coffey Park burn area"). "Just over a year after the devastating North bay firestorm, and seven months after construction began, the underground gas and electric line have been restored to Santa Rosa’s Coffey Park neighborhood, and two others soon to be," the station reported. "Since April more than a hundred PG&E workers spent 75,000 hours completing the underground utility system rebuild. By the numbers, in Coffey Park, 17 miles of trenches dug, 22 miles of electric power lines and transformers installed and 10 miles of new gas lines installed and pressurized."
Repairs to water lines were also required: "City officials announced Oct. 11 that the water in Fountaingrove is once again safe for drinking and bathing," the Press Democrat reported (see: "Water woes resolved in Fountaingrove, with dozens of homes underway," by Hannah Beausang). "An advisory was issued last November for a 184-acre section of the neighborhood after flames melted water pipes and contaminated parts of the water system with benzene, a chemical that can cause cancer."
"As of early October, more than 1,200 of the 2,700 homes lost in Santa Rosa were being rebuilt, most of them on the same properties that were engulfed in flames just a year before," reported the Los Angeles Times (see: "How do you build a safer city after California's worst wildfire? Santa Rosa officials say the answer may have to wait," by Laura Newberry). Tougher codes are now in force than when the homes were originally built, however, the Times reported: "Any home built since 2008 in the wildland-urban interface — where structures mingle with flammable vegetation — must follow strict fire-retardant standards, including mesh coverings on attic vents and double-paned windows. Sprinkler systems are now required in all new homes."
Photos by Tim Healey
