California Wildfires: Housing Markets Will Likely Feel Devastating Effects for Years

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California Wildfires: Housing Markets Will Likely Feel Devastating Effects for Years
By Clare Trapasso | Oct 12, 2017

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Late Sunday evening, Russel Lee was relaxing on his deck in Santa Rosa, CA, drinking a glass of wine. Then he smelled the smoke. He checked the local police scanner app on his phone and learned that wildfires blazing out of control were moving in on his four-bedroom townhouse in Southern California's Orange County.

The 63-year-old real estate agent and his wife, an artist, dug out their three cat carriers and frantically began packing some clothes, valuables, and important paperwork. At around 1 a.m., the police came banging on the door, yelling: "Get out now!" The Lees made it to a makeshift emergency shelter at the local veterans center, along with some folks who hadn't had time to change out of their bathrobes and slippers before fleeing.

Their home was burned to rubble, and they lost nearly everything—including one of their beloved cats, Alya, who refused to get into her carrier in time. His wife's artwork, much of which she had already sold online, was all destroyed along with the antique furniture that had been in his family for generations. The couple are now living in their motor home parked on their friend's driveway.