Its been a rough two weeks here in norcal with the Camp Fire. So far, I know of one person who lost their classic car plus another person who lost about 4 cars. There are two other people who I have not contacted that might have lost their corvettes 61, 63 SWC and a 66 396. Not sure... Not too many people allowed to go home yet.

One person I know has a 48 chevy convertible. He thinks his shop is still standing where the 48 chevy convertible is parked but does not know more than that. His story was crazy. The fire started about 4 miles from where he and his wife lived. They tried to pack up as much stuff into their car as they could. Then the fire came... They were blocked from the power lines while attempting to go down the road. Luckily there was a bulldozer driving by cutting a fire line. The bulldozer operator told the couple to get on and got them down off of the mountain.

Another person I know has a highly modified henry J. He and his wife lost everything. This fire did not give people enough time to save much. Lots of lives lost.

Everyone I know lost their homes except for one couple. Their house had black soot coming out of the vents. A couple of my friends lost their businesses.

 

Really tragic event for many people. Thanks for the update.

 

The amount of devastation is horrifying,as is how FAST the damn thing spread. Unreal, and much compassion and sorrow for those affected and lost. There was simply nowhere to run to in many, many cases.

 

Lets put it this way, I went to work at 6:30 and no fire and clear skies. By 7:30 someone knocked on my door and asked if I looked outside? It was dark.

 

I used to fly air tankers for a company based out of Chico. Paradise was a great little town and a lot of our employees lived there. I don't know how many of those great folks were lost. I wish them all well.

Doc

 

Wish you folks the best during these bad times.

 

Hey Jim,

The devastation and loss of life is mind boggling. I can't even put into words how horrific the loss of life is. Then the fact that some individuals probably won't even be found. I truly don't know what I would do, or if I would even want to build there again.

Unfortunately, now comes the part where many of the survivors will suffer additional turmoil as construction costs will suddenly increase, and finding competent labor will come at a premium.

I understand that last year's fire near Santa Rosa has suffered from increases in construction costs to the tune of over $400.00 per square foot. Many are finding that their insurance doesn't even come close to covering the cost to rebuild.

Take care,

Pat

 

Right now, it has impacted the home prices and rentals. All of the prices have skyrocketed. There were 250 homes on the market in Chico before the fire. Now, there are 50 with several of those pending. The problem is not enough places for people to buy or rent in the surrounding area. Paradise does not have any infrastructure. No tax revenue coming into the city of Paradise. That's gonna cause some issues to get things back into order if they can get things back to normal. I do not foresee them doing any building until probably 2-3 years for most of the residents. The other thing was most of them could not purchase or get a loan in the county because of the fire was not over 80% contained. Chico is a college town so not much to rent while college is in session. Its not like a family wants to live on fraternity row. The other part to this is quite a few mobile homes up there. Most of those homes are not insured for a whole lot. Chico is moving away from allowing any more mobile home parks. They did say they approved a tiny home community south of town. That will help for some but not until next year.

Most of the people I know are commuting over 60 miles one way while renting or living in extended stay hotels. Otherwise, the rest of the people are not staying with friends or families. I did hear that the county is easing up the regulations to allow someone to park a travel trailer on land to live in for a short time.

Right now, you can see lots of travel trailers set up in parking lots all.

Like I said everyone I know pretty much have to rebuild. Either the home is not live-able or gone. My wife's friend is hosting two families. One family lost their home while the other's home is still standing. The two families were arguing over who has it more rough with dealing with the insurance. One family can move back without any power/septic or sewage into a smoke damaged house while the other couple can rebuild or buy a house somewhere else.

Its hard. My coworker broke down in front of 20 of his own peers. He just kept weeping... The only thing, I could offer was a place for him to stay during the work week otherwise I can listen. Most of the evacuees whom I have met lived through the harrowing drive the day of the fire wanted to tell their story or show you the video they captured. It was unbelievable what these people experienced.

I sound like debbie downer.

 

In the '91 Oakland Hills fire (3100 homes destroyed---caused by arson) most of my friend's parents lost their lifetime homes and all of their possessions. My father had to evacuate, but the fire missed him by a block. Almost no deaths, though. It took several years for the rebuilding to commence, and the quaint, 1920's-'30's construction with slate roofs, parquet floors, first- growth- tight grain- dimensional lumber, lath/plaster walls, etc. simply could NOT be duplicated. The houses went up, but with none of the charm or quality of the originals. Still, the loss was not even comparable to the Camp fire.....nothing is.

 

Thoughts and prayers for all involved in this devastation, I don't know what else to say. Chip

 

Thank goodness there are some good people out there lending a hand to one another.

Pat

 

 

Last night, I found out one of the corvettes (SWC) I mentioned was destroyed in the fire.

 

That really sucks - but as I often say - these material "things" are far less important than a human life...

 

You read about it and see the pics of the devastation, but it's hard to comprehend. Dennis

 

Yeah, its heartbreaking...

 

I can only hope and pray that everyone had adequate Homeowners and classic car insurance. Let us know what you hear or know of by fact!

 

 

Well that makes sense. Homeowner's insurance covers the dwelling and items which pertain to the dwelling. It's not intended to cover vehicles.

 

I used to collect O scale brass model trains and dealt with a fellow named Gar Puett who owned Paradise Junction Hobby Shop, in Paradise Valley. He was older than me and might have passed away years ago, but sure hope he didn't perish in this horrific event.

BH