LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – During a two-week period between Feb. 16 and Feb. 29, the county of Lake’s Valley Fire Long-Term Recovery Task Force completed a survey of Valley fire survivors.
 
Recovery Coordinator Carol Huchingson was pleased with the response. “We received 413 responses, 350 of which were from survivors who lost their primary residents. This allows our results to be statistically significant at a 95 percent confidence, with a 5 percent margin of error.”
 
Of the 350 responses received from those who lost their primary residences, more than 50 percent stated they plan to rebuild, and 24 percent stated they are still unsure of whether they will rebuild.

Some of the barriers to rebuilding include lack of financial means and the amount of time and energy that goes into the rebuilding process.
 
“We will be able to use this data from the survey to help the county focus our attention on the areas that are concerning our residents, and find solutions to make the rebuilding process easier for them,” said Huchingson.
 
As many as 67 percent of Valley fire survivors have been able to find housing in Lake County. “We were happy to see that so many Lake County residents have been able to find alternate housing in Lake County. Before this survey we didn’t know where all our Valley fire survivors relocated,” said Huchingson.
 
Links to the survey were emailed to more than 700 fire survivors. Those who did not have email addresses on file were encouraged to call in to a survey phone number and set up an appointment. Recovery staff also were able to call fire survivors and help them complete the survey.
 
The Lake County Valley Fire Recovery Task Force is a partnership of local, state, federal and tribal representatives. These agencies are working together to provide comprehensive services to aid in the recovery of Valley fire survivors and Lake County residents.