Paradise reconstruction to take 20 years, mayor tells California Realtors

The mayor of Paradise has a message for residents of Pacific Palisades and Altadena: there is hope that they will be able to rebuild their fire-ravaged communities.

But it’s going to take decades, and the costs of reconstruction will skyrocket, possibly outpacing insurance, Paradise Mayor Steve Crowder said Wednesday, March 26, during a virtual California Association of Realtors (CAR) forum about wildfire reconstruction in Los Angeles County.

“Is there hope for us,” Crowder said he was asked by officials who toured the northern California community leveled by fire in 2018.

“Yes, there is hope,” said Crowder.  “Look at us.”

Nearly 19,000 homes and buildings in and around Paradise were destroyed in the 153,000-acre Camp blaze that cost 85 lives.

Crowder, who lost his home in that fire, was one of four speakers on the CAR panel.

Crowder said it will take 20 years to complete the rebuilding of Paradise, located 87 miles north of Sacramento.

After six years, reconstruction is only about a third done, with about 3,200 houses and 600 multifamily units completed, Crowder said. The pace of reconstruction ranges from 350 to 500 homes a year.

But much of the city’s infrastructure was destroyed, he said. The town of 26,000 now has about 12,000 residents.

How did Pacific Palisades and Altadena visitors react when told reconstruction could take 20 years?

“I think they were a little shocked,” Crowder said. “You need to be honest with them and tell them what the challenges are that they’re facing, and let them make the decisions they need to make. But don’t tell them they can’t do it, because they absolutely can, and we’re a testament to that.”

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Crowder said the three chief challenges for Paradise’s reconstruction are building homes that can survive a future fire, finding insurance coverage, and construction costs.

“Pre-fire, we were building houses at $175-$200 a (square) foot. Overnight, we went to $300-$350 a foot,” said Crowder, citing a lack of contractors and building materials. “It just drove it up. … People that had (insurance) coverage were insured for $150-$200 a foot.”

To provide relief, Gov. Gavin Newsom temporarily waived the state building code requirement that rebuilt homes must have solar panels.

However, that backfired for homeowners who wanted solar, Crowder said. Since their insurance only would pay for required building code upgrades, they couldn’t get reimbursed for installing panels.