Rebuilding in Santa Rosa, a Year After the Tubbs Fire

A year ago Lisa and Bruce Coats stood stunned in the wreckage of their home in Coffey Park, the Santa Rosa, California, neighborhood so thoroughly burned by a firestorm that it looked as if it were carpet bombed. Their two-story home was one of 1,350 houses in the neighborhood destroyed by the fire.

A few weeks ago, the Coatses texted a photo of a new house they are building on the same lot. The cedar paneling, second-floor deck and plentiful large windows could have been taken from an architectural brochure. And they were. Bruce Coats came across the design on the internet and sent the image to his architect.

“We are making the best of what happened, and we are getting a beautiful house,” Coats said last week. “But I would not wish on anyone what we went through to get it.”

A year after the most destructive fires in California’s history, it’s remarkable both how quickly some households are bouncing back and how difficult and scarring it has been for them.

It is costing $600,000 for the Coats family to rebuild their home, but the money they are receiving from their insurance company, even after much haggling, is just $350,000, forcing them to take out a second loan in addition to their mortgage.

“A significant number of people who lost their homes in the fire were underinsured,” said Jeff Okrepkie, chairman of Coffey Strong, an organization created by residents whose homes were destroyed in the fire. “There are still people who are figuring out what they can do, what they can afford.”

The message of the Coatses and Okrepkie to other Californians is to check your insurance policy and to make sure the replacement cost is realistic.

Bruce Coats, who hopes they can move into their house early next year, says he and his wife will enjoy the new fireplace he is having installed, and he’s happy to have recessed lighting and other amenities they didn’t have in their old house. But the house will have none of their old possessions — all of those burned in the fire.

“If I could roll back the clock and make this fire never happen I would do it in a heartbeat and keep the house that I had,” Coats said.