Paradise Fire/Camp Creek Fire 11/08/2018 (Vista, Chico: for sale, renting, assess)

[mountainrose]

Great news mgforshort!
If you won’t be able to get to your property for a few days more, I wonder if you and a few neighbors could pitch in and hire a drone company to fly the drone all over with close ups of your houses to see the shape they are still in. RE agencies here hire drones for fairly cheap price to view properties. Maybe someone with a drone would even volunteer for free to do it.

[Reziac]

Meanwhile you can tour your neighborhood using the Camp Fire Structure Status page. Undamaged structures are marked but not pictured.

It's really informative to look at structures that were damaged but not destroyed, One on Lava Rock Drive is especially telling: fire got into the crawlspace, possibly via embers entering through small vents. This house got lucky and only lost some insulation, but when you look at enough of 'em, it becomes evident that ground level blowing embers were the main source of ignition; once it got underneath or inside a structure, it was doomed. Metal and stucco were both somewhat protective, while any wood or vinyl at ground level (even as little as a doorframe) was an invitation to burn. There are a number of stucco structures where only the doors or windows burned, and one where only the vinyl gutters burned (fortunately they melted and fell off rather than catching the roof beams). Found another where fire burned UP a vinyl downspout (that one also got lucky).

This morning's incident report is starting to look promising -- the fire is no longer growing at any significant pace, and no structures are presently threatened:

Size: 153,336 acres
Containment: 90%
Expected Full Containment: 11/30/18
Civilian Injuries: 0
Firefighter Injuries: 3
Civilian Fatalities: 83
Firefighter Fatalities: 0
Structures Threatened: 0
Single Residences Destroyed: 13,631
Single Residences Damaged: 472
Multiple Residences Destroyed: 275
Commercial Destroyed: 514
Commercial Damaged: 105
Other Minor Structures Destroyed: 4,232

CURRENT SITUATION Situation Summary: Precipitation has minimized fire activity and all fire lines continue to hold. Firefighters and resources continue to be deployed throughout the fire area to patrol and remove hazards. Search and Rescue crews and US&R teams continue to secure buildings and conduct a methodical search within the fire area for missing victims. Fire suppression repair has been temporarily suspended in areas that are inaccessible due to precipitation.

You can sign up to receive updates here. You'll get links to PDFs several times a day.

[mgforshort]

We are on "Nextdoor". Many here thinks Nextdoor is a gossip heaven, but it became a blessing after the fire. More info than on the official websites.

Someone on Nextdoor created a poll.
About 40% of the replies plans to rebuild no matter what.
Maybe 30 % will leave, like us.
The rest is undecided.
The renters and the uninsured have no other choice than sue. If PG&E goes bankrupt they won't get anything. The others will get the insurance settlement.

With the speed of our government - I mean the lack of it - just clearing away the ruined remains could take a few years.
Then, getting plans and permits, add another year.
Add a year finding a contractor, but that could be much longer as we have mostly handyman here. Some might move here to work, but it won't be nearly enough.
Then, build that house, another 12-18 months.
It will be a long, difficult, interesting process, worthy of a sociologist's study. I will watch it from Arkansas, or North Carolina, but I'm sure we won't live long enough to see it to the end.

Paradise will never be the same, the character of the town will be replaced by look-alike tract homes and identical yards. The hundred-year old oaks and pines will become just some bush.
The way I see it, there isn't a safe spot in the state of California. After Laguna Beach burned down, a stone-throw from the Pacific, no place is safe here.

[Reziac]

This is why if you're a renter, you invest a couple hundred bucks a year on rental insurance. Mine is State Farm's bottom end, costs about $110/year for $56,000 worth of coverage at replacement value.

[mgforshort]

Originally Posted by Reziac

This is why if you're a renter, you invest a couple hundred bucks a year on rental insurance. Mine is State Farm's bottom end, costs about $110/year for $56,000 worth of coverage at replacement value.

Reziac, I couldn't agree more.

Sadly, some of our people would rather spend that money on Starbucks or on their smartphones.

[Reziac]

Here's a terrific story from someone who got trapped up in Concow with neighbors and assorted abandoned dogs:

Jeff Evans' Home Survived A Wildfire But His Neighbors Weren't As Lucky

Props to our own Windwalker2 for the heads-up on this story..

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by mgforshort

We didn't want to contact The Hartford before, in the first days after leaving Paradise, because we had no idea what happened to our home. There is an interactive map where we can look up every street and it shows which home is burned or damaged or standing, but they haven't got to our street yet, Redbud Drive.
So this morning I called The Hartford. Hardly any waiting, 2 minutes later I was talking to "Marie" and gave her all the data and numbers, e mail and the rest. She was easy and very helpful. I didn't have the policy number, but she could find us from the car insurance in seconds.
Mary told us the name of our assigned adjuster, his phone number, and explained us that the adjuster will call back within 24 hours.

The adjuster called back maybe 3 hours later and explained that all our living and housing costs are covered. The house is insured to $ 374 K. If it burned, we get that amount, I think. If the house survived, any damages are covered and also our lodging is covered until we can move back.
He asked me if we need any cash, but we are fine in that regard.
It was a pleasant experience, I think we are in good hands with the Hartford for the time being. I will update if there are new developments.

My heart goes out to the desperate folks living in tents and cars, comparing to them we live like royalty with heat, TV and microwave.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all, and we appreciate your concern.

Assuming 374k is the total amount you are insured for, you might not get that much from the insurance company. I knew a few people who lost their homes in the Oakland hills fire and they didn't get close to what they thought they would. The way they explained it is that if a home is insured at market value, say $500,000 that is based on the value of the home and the lot that it's on. So if it only costs $350,000 to replace your home on your existing lot, that is all that you would receive.
But, you will also receive 50-70% of your insured amount for replacement of contents of your home, so start hunting for pictures taken inside your home that show the more expensive items so that you can get full value of them, that's assuming that you lost receipts and other evidence of what you owned, So, if they decided that of that they can rebuild your home for $300,000 you can potentially receive another $187,000 or more for the contents.

[BurntCoffey]

Originally Posted by mgforshort

About 40% of the replies plans to rebuild no matter what.

That number will no doubt go down quite a bit over time, after they begin to encounter the headaches they'll need to endure dealing with insurance, contracts, bureaucracies, etc. Most of the homeowners in my neighborhood of Coffey Park who chose to stay are families with children still in school, which seems to be a different demographic than Paradise. I've already retired once and, like you mgforshort, don't want to go through the hassles associated with rebuilding at this stage of my life.

[BurntCoffey]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

Assuming 374k is the total amount you are insured for, you might not get that much from the insurance company. I knew a few people who lost their homes in the Oakland hills fire and they didn't get close to what they thought they would. The way they explained it is that if a home is insured at market value, say $500,000 that is based on the value of the home and the lot that it's on. So if it only costs $350,000 to replace your home on your existing lot, that is all that you would receive.
But, you will also receive 50-70% of your insured amount for replacement of contents of your home, so start hunting for pictures taken inside your home that show the more expensive items so that you can get full value of them, that's assuming that you lost receipts and other evidence of what you owned, So, if they decided that of that they can rebuild your home for $300,000 you can potentially receive another $187,000 or more for the contents.

I received a check from my insurance company 2 days after the Tubbs Fire last year as an advance on my contents. Our coverage was broken down into 4 categories:

1. Appraised value of structure minus land value and deductible.
2. Outbuildings, fencing, trees, etc.
3. Contents (50% of #1.)
4. ALE (assisted living expense) = 2 years rent for disaster areas.

[mgforshort]

2sleepy: Thanks for the advice.

Our home is one of the hundreds of survivors.
The neighbor's house to the left and to the right is nothing more than ashes and twisted, melted metal.
The neighbor's house across from us is standing. We talked to the owner and she said she never want to step into Paradise again. Her daughter and grand daughter survived by a miracle; they were in different cars. One man in the daughter's car jumped out thinking he'd be better off and the man burned to death while the occupants of the car were inching forward.
I'd like to sell our house for what our cost was with all the upgrades, exactly $ 295 K, plus the realtor commission.
I think we could get it, there is a tremendous demand for housing in the entire North State after the devastating fires we had this year. I am not taking advantage of anyone, but I'd like to get back what we spent and move away, as far and as fast as we can.