By Peter Henderson and Chad Terhune

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Karen Myles, 66, emerged from her home in Altadena, California in the middle of the night in her pajamas, facing a forest of red and orange burning trees and living creatures. wires from downed power poles lighting up the street. . Her son, rousing her from a deep sleep, navigated their way to safety.

A fire destroyed his neighborhood this month, and he’s not coming back.

“I will not rebuild. Oh no. Hell no. That fire took everything from me. I will fly somewhere, somewhere beautiful. Maybe Colorado,” the retiree said outside a disaster recovery center. He lived in the house for more than 40 years and will miss friends, he said, but “the fire didn’t choose me.”

Across the Los Angeles coast, Pacific Palisades residents Sonia and James Cummings lost a home they bought in 1987 and renovated a decade ago.

“It’s meant to stay there until we’re off the ground,” James Cummings, 77, said.

Now they see a wasteland.

“I worked non-stop for two years to build our ideal home,” added Sonia. “We are at the point where everything is perfect. I don’t want to do that again.”

Victims of one of the most devastating wildfires in California history are struggling to decide whether to rebuild, facing a bewildering array of challenges, including rising construction costs, years of effort, and the question of whether tight-knit communities, especially the middle class. Altadena, rise again.

10,000 BURNING STRUCTURES

An issue for many is the toxic ash and other pollutants that blanket neighborhoods, stretching block after block. The fires killed about two dozen people and destroyed more than 10,000 structures.

“Think of ash like fine, dangerous dust that can be inhaled deep into the lungs and can cause major problems wherever it lands. It’s not just dirt,” an advisory from the LA County Public Health Department warned.

Mark Pestrella, director of Los Angeles County Public Works, said he has established a free program for homeowners to clean up hazardous waste.

“We will dispose of material properly and we will deliver a lot to you ready to build (on),” he told residents recently, adding that the province will also allow private contractors. State and local officials are promising to cut red tape to speed up rebuilding.

Many who are considering rebuilding don’t expect it to be easy, or fast.

Altadena resident Shawna Dawson-Beer, 50, is renovating her stately home into what she calls a “forever home.” He did not recognize his way back after the fire.

“We want to go home, and our houses are gone,” he said. “Only God knows when the cleansing will be done. Only God knows if the cleaning is done properly. And then you go around the construction and then, you’re lucky, the whole time you don’t have a community. No more. We are all uprooted and scattered into the air.”

Her husband, Marcus Beer, 54, said they had good insurance on the damaged home.

“If we go back, won’t we be safe? Because we are not in the ‘burn area’, but oh boy, how are we now,” he said. Realizing they are in a burn zone also makes the idea of ​​rebuilding even more stressful.

Jewelry designer Charlotte Dewaele, 48, was lucky in one way: her house was saved because her husband stayed behind to protect it as the fire approached. It’s a rental, but it has their lives, he said.

Now what, he wondered. Will the owner keep the house? Does he want to return, surrounded by destruction? Will years of construction keep asbestos, lead and other toxic chemicals in the air?

“You’re in the middle of this wilderness,” he said. “Should I make my child wear a mask outside for the next four years?”

Many homeowners fear that they won’t collect enough insurance money to cover what they expect to be increased construction costs. Pacific Palisades real estate broker Adam Jaret, 49, suspects it could be an opening for major developers and investors to transform the area in a construction process he believes will take a decade.

However, leaving a community is difficult. Dawson-Beer and her husband were about to sign a one-year lease on a house about 100 miles (160 km) away, to give them time to think, but she couldn’t do it. .

“The idea of ​​leaving everything I know gave me a panic attack,” she said.