Patrick Caskey, MD | Physician who lost home in 2017 Santa Rosa Fire
Recovery after losing everything in a wildfire is like cycling up a long steep hill. If you pace yourself and keep pedaling you will eventually grind your way to the top!
Don’t focus on what you’ve lost. Try to concentrate on the future.
Realize that you and your significant other will likely process this event differently
One may want to move away immediately; the other may not.
One may be intent to rebuild ASAP; the other may not want to rebuild at all.
Respect each other’s post-fire anxieties; they may be different but no less real.
You may feel strongly about an issue but may change your mind in a week.
Take time to emphasize communication and give each other grace!
Find housing
We initially stayed short-term with friends, moving weekly for about 8 weeks.
We then found a rental house and stayed there for a little over three years.
Your insurance will likely have “loss of use” coverage (ALE) to help pay for rent.
Be sure to keep all your living expense receipts to maximize your payout.
Consider buying a small house or trailer to live in while rebuilding.
Price gouging is illegal but unfortunately some people still try it.
Sign up for state and county disaster programs | https://recovery.lacounty.gov/
You may receive some benefits faster than from your insurance.
Debris removal - using the Army Corps of Engineers is free but it may be a more generic removal process. If your insurance covers debris removal, a private contractor may provide service more tailored to your property. See https://recovery.lacounty.gov/debris-removal/ for more details.
State and county programs may help you regain your lost documents. Here is a useful article regarding this topic: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/ 2025-01-16/how-to-replace-essential-documents-destroyed-in-the-fires
ID theft is an issue! When you sign up with FEMA and the Red Cross, ensure that someone hasn’t already filed a fraudulent claim under your name.
Be sure to check out United Policyholder’s “Roadmap to Recovery” which was an invaluable resource for us: https://uphelp.org/recovery/
Homeowner’s Insurance Gauntlet (the Three Ps)
Patience - the insurance company will try to outlast you so don’t let them. - They know you’re vulnerable so they may offer a quick payout of 75% - Don’t take it; hold out for the whole coverage amount. - It took us a little over 9 months to finally receive our full payout (100%)
Persistence - the squeaky wheel gets the grease as they say! - To create angst and wear you down, your insurance company may re-assign your adjuster every few weeks; we had 8 in total! - Contact your adjuster at least twice a week to check claims status. - Provide them with as much detail as possible about house and property. - Pay a good contractor to bid rebuilding your house in today’s dollars and provide that bid to your insurance company in writing.
Politeness - insurance company tactics will make you angry but stay calm. - Don’t give them an excuse to cut off communication by blaming you. - Communicate in writing (email or US mail) to create a paper trail. - Consider using a private adjuster if you don’t have time to deal with the insurance company directly and don’t mind creating an adversarial relationship with them; they charge 10-15% of your final payout.
The United Policyholders site has great Homeowners Insurance advice
Medical practice considerations
Determine where to send patients if your building is damaged or unavailable. Other practices in the Bay Area saw our patients for us; we were out for 10 days while our building was fire-inspected and cleaned of toxic smoke residue.
We had medical practice insurance (The Hartford) that helped cover our staff salaries and overhead, loss of revenue and property cleanup.
A list of additional business recovery options may be found at this site: https://outsmartdisaster.calosba.ca.gov/support-and-resources-for-los-angeles-areawildfire-recovery/
Rebuilding
After the 2017 fire, Sonoma County streamlined the process of planning and permitting which helped to significantly speed the rebuilding process. LA County is doing something similar which should be advantageous: https:// recovery.lacounty.gov/2025/02/13/governor-newsom-cuts-more-red-tape-by-further-streamliningpermitting-laws-to-accelerate-rebuilding-los-angeles/
We were told that it would take 5 years from the date of our fire before we could hope to finish our rebuilding project; it actually took us 3.5 years.
Watch out for scam “builders”! Many out-of-area contractors poured into our communities promising fire victims to quickly rebuild their homes. They asked for upfront money and then left town or declared bankruptcy.
So do your due diligence on your architect and contractor and get solid bids! https://www.bbb.org/all/home-improvement/how-to-hire-a-reliable-and-trustworthy-generalcontractor
We arranged a fixed-price contract with our builder which came in on budget.
Be sure to sign up for litigation against LADWP if they are found to be at fault
Many people will find that they are underinsured because they fell behind in updating their policies and because rebuilding costs are inflated due to heightened demand and supply chain issues.
After our fires were found to be caused in large part by PG&E's negligence, a Fire Victims’ Recovery Fund was established that was helpful in providing funding relief not covered by Homeowners Insurance.
…and finally, the good news (sort of)!
* Before the fire, we had accumulated so much clutter in our garage over our 25 years of living there that we could no longer park our cars there. All it took was one timely fire and we were free of having to deal with that clutter forever!
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