Nearly 1,400 people are experiencing homelessness in Butte County, and about one in 10 of them were displaced by wildfires, according to the county’s latest annual point in time survey of unhoused residents.
Service providers say unhoused people displaced by wildfires often face unique challenges when trying to recover and rebuild.
"Odds are that maybe you didn't have a copy of that deed or something that tied you to that property, and then just really not knowing where to start to get that," said Hilary Crosby, executive director of the emergency shelter Safe Space. "If you didn't have PG&E in your name, or you didn't have the cable in your name, how do you prove that you were there?"
Crosby said it's important for unhoused fire survivors to receive case management so they can be put in touch with aid groups that can help them begin rebuilding.
"We're losing [houses] faster than we can rebuild them."- Amy Rohrer, Valley Contractors Exchange executive director
In addition to displacing residents, several major wildfires experienced in the area have also compounded an already high demand for housing. According to the point in time summary, Butte County's amount of vacant housing is far less than the state average.
Amy Rohrer, executive director of Valley Contractors Exchange, said wildfires have destroyed nearly 16,000 homes in the county in the past six years, which is exacerbating an already big problem.
"Pre-fire, we needed about 10,000 [housing] units, but now it's much more than that," said Rohrer, "We're losing them faster than we can rebuild them.”
There are more than 350 affordable housing units about to open or beginning construction soon on the Paradise ridge, but Rohrer said challenges like a lack of utility infrastructure and general challenges building in the foothills are slowing progress.
“When you’re dealing with trauma, it is important to have your support system in place, and the support system that we know is our community.”- Amy Rohrer, Valley Contractors Exchange executive director
While it might be easier logistically to build more units in the valley, Rohrer — who lost her home in the 2018 Camp Fire — said it’s essential to put affordable housing back in the communities that were burned.
"When you're dealing with trauma, it is important to have your support system in place, and the support system that we know is our community and the people we've been around," she said. "As a Butte Creek Canyon resident, I felt that. [After the fire] I was living in Chico, just a stone's throw away … but I desperately wanted to be back in my community with my neighbors."
The county’s small, rural communities in the foothills have been the most affected by wildfires. More than half of the respondents who said they lost their housing due to natural disasters, lost it in the Camp Fire
