Fillmore Celebrates Recovery : Aftermath: Governor’s wife joins ceremony, saying she is impressed with speedy effort after quake. But some believe work won’t be done for years.

A host of leaders, including California First Lady Gayle Wilson, gathered Tuesday in Fillmore to celebrate what they called the city’s quick recovery from January’s earthquake.

At least 200 people attended the afternoon ceremony at Central Park, which was highlighted by brief remarks by Wilson, wife of Gov. Pete Wilson.

“There’s obviously a lot of civic pride here,” she said. “I’m just here to say congratulations for getting back on track.”

But even as officials from Fillmore, Sacramento and Washington piled accolades on volunteers, private companies and each other for helping the tiny city regain momentum, others privately conceded that it would take years for the city to completely recover.

The first of nearly 100 houses and mobile homes demolished or damaged as a result of the 6.8-magnitude earthquake won’t be completed until next month, City Planner Anthony Perez said. And 19 businesses operating out of a trailer or a fiberglass tent likely won’t get permanent addresses for at least two years, officials said.

“The merchants need to find stable financing and figure out what they’re going to do,” said Dale Crockett, president of the Fillmore Chamber of Commerce.

“Then they need to go through the planning and permitting process. It will take two years before we’re all through,” said Crockett, whose photography studio was damaged during the quake.

But Crockett, like nearly everyone interviewed during Tuesday’s ceremony, said he is grateful for the quick response of state and federal officials after the Jan. 17 quake, which caused an estimated $250 million in damage in the city.

Many said they have been pleased with the help of Federal Emergency Management Agency officials and are proud that their city pulled together to start returning to normal.

“We had our merchants back in business before other cities who suffered damage from the earthquake,” Councilman Roger Campbell said. “Northridge, Simi, those cities were still deciding what to do when we had our businesses open again in the trailers.”

Wilson also said she was impressed by the speedy recovery effort in Fillmore.

“I have been in a lot of the communities affected by the earthquake, and they are making progress,” she told reporters after the ceremony. “But when you have a self-contained community like Fillmore, I think that gives you a leg up on the other cities.”

The city organized the ceremony to thank local volunteers, state and federal emergency workers, and corporate donors for their part in helping Fillmore get back on track.

Fillmore has received $4.5 million in state and federal funds. In addition, several private companies have kicked in smaller donations to help rebuild. IBM Corp. donated 40 computers to City Hall and A. C. Green Youth Foundation and G. E. Modular Space helped underwrite the cost of trailers needed to house displaced merchants.

Fillmore Mayor Linda Brewster also thanked the Red Cross and scores of local philanthropic organizations that provided food, clothing and shelter immediately after the earthquake.

During her visit, Wilson toured a trailer housing nine displaced businesses and chatted with business owners.

Although hair stylist Esperanza Hurtado did not complain to Wilson, she later said she wishes that Fillmore’s progress was quicker.

Hurtado said she applied for a federal grant three weeks after the quake, but has yet to receive any money. “I cannot move or make any plans until I know I have the money to do it.”

Wilson said she made the stop in Fillmore, population 12,800, because the damage it suffered was virtually ignored by some media, with attention focused on the quake’s epicenter in the San Fernando Valley.

“Fillmore, being a rural community . . . didn’t get a lot of the attention it deserved,” she said. “I wanted to give it recognition.”