Rise From Ashes Is Slow for Porter Ranch Fire Victims

The contractor rebuilding David Snyder’s fire-damaged home in Porter Ranch promised it would be finished in three months.

When it was still incomplete seven months after the disastrous fire that swept through the area on the morning of Dec. 9, 1988, Snyder and his family got fed up and moved back in anyway.

Now, a month later, their kitchen, dining room and family room remain unfinished and more than 30 boxes are still packed. Nevertheless, the family is happy to be back. “There’s really no place like home,” Snyder said.

With the fall brush-fire season and Santa Ana winds just beginning, neighbors in the area say 12 of 19 families whose homes were destroyed or severely damaged in the fire have yet to move back. The fire caused an estimated $4.3 million in damage.

Some houses along Beaufait Avenue above Aliso Canyon, the area hardest hit by the fire, are newly framed. Other lots have been bulldozed flat. Some houses are nearing completion, but the charred ruins of one still stand.

One family sold their lot rather than return. Eleven others are still living elsewhere, and some of them face a lengthy wait and ever-mounting frustration.

‘Reliving Fire’

“They’re still reliving the fire every day of their lives,” said Linda Pogacnik, a resident of the area whose home was not damaged. “Not only have they lost everything, but they have to battle the contractors and fire adjusters.”

Pogacnik headed a committee that organized a block party Saturday to help cement ties between residents of the fire-ravaged neighborhood.

The committee has thrown monthly Sunday brunches for the burned-out victims and has raised an estimated $2,000 from raffles and sales of T-shirts and hats that say: “I survived the Porter Ranch Fire.”

Some of the money was spent on the block party, but most is to be donated to charities designated by the Los Angeles city and county fire departments and the Los Angeles Police Department, organizers said. “It’s just our way of saying, ‘Thank you,’ because when we were running out, they were going in” to fight the fire, said Stan Feldman, a member of the committee.

In accepting the neighborhood’s gratitude, Chief Don Anthony of the Los Angeles Fire Department said he hopes the recent citywide ban on new wood-shake roofs will make this fire season safer.

He said the Porter Ranch fire helped persuade the City Council to approve the ban.

During the block party, the families burned out of their homes wore gold stars on their name tags. They received encouragement and sympathy from those who were more fortunate.

“One good thing out of the fire is all this neighborhood stuff,” said Linda Struthoff, who hopes to see construction begin in two weeks on the family’s new home. “Their support has meant a lot to us and all of the other burnouts.”

Insurance Delays

Hassles with an insurance company delayed construction on the Struthoffs’ home. She said it may be 1990 before the family returns. “We’ll feel better as we see some progress,” Struthoff said.

Other residents of the area said overworked contractors have been slow in making repairs. William and Carrie Edwards, who are living in a rented house several miles away, said their contractor told them that difficulties in getting permits delayed construction from February until May. They hope to move in by mid-September.

“You’re not in the real world and you’re waiting to get back in it and continue with real life,” he said.

Arnold and Ilene Vandenberg, whose home was about 70% destroyed in the fire, were among the first of the burnout victims to return to the neighborhood.

The Vandenbergs, who returned a month ago, said insurance and salvaging companies were helpful.

Ilene Vandenberg did the work of a general contractor in arranging for the rebuilding work, which also speeded the process.

“It’s a very special appreciation you have when you move back after you’ve lost something,” she said.

The Snyder family shares that feeling.

Even though the house they were renting was larger than their own and just as comfortable, it was no substitute, David Snyder said.

By Labor Day, the house should be back to normal, he said.

The poorly built kitchen cupboards in their refurbished house should be replaced so that the family’s refrigerator fits and oak floors should be installed.

“We’re pretty fed up with it, but we see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.