Well, guest, the homeowners insurance was enough to replace my main house, (or rather allow me to move to another) but I had two houses, and one insurance company is only covering half the cost of replacing the second structure. The destruction was so total and the losses so great, there is no chance to replace all that was destroyed.   The fire did immense damage....unbelieveable....over 150,000 acres were totally demolished as well as over 19,000 homes, making many thousands of people homeless. The official death toll numbers 88 humans, but there have been many more deaths indirectly due to the fire. The animal deaths, both domestic and wild, has no way of being counted. The vehicles which were burned have yet to be counted, though many were abandoned when the owners had to run for their lives due to being stuck in traffic jams, or having tires or cars catch on fire and cease to run.

The place where my structures stood is still not cleaned up after 6 months. The rubble and toxic ash still sit on the site. there are so many places needing to be cleaned up that FEMA is saying it may take years. The impact of this disaster is unfathomable, and the recovery, both physical, and emotional will take many years.

I lost my home 10 years ago from another fire in the same location. That fire was due to natural causes...lightning. I had no insurance that time, but had built a new home made from lumber milled from fire-killed trees. We were just beginning to recover from the previous fire, establishing gardens, etc. The issue is not that simple!