First 'wildfire cottages' in Santa Rosa are readied for survivors of 2017 Tubbs Fire

The first five "wildfire cottages" built for survivors of the October 2017 blazes that destroyed thousands of Santa Rosa homes were dedicated Friday on land donated by Medtronic during a ceremony honoring the many partners involved.

Eventually, nine homes will be built on this site, located in the Fountaingrove neighborhood in the northeast area of the city. The first five are two-bedroom units that will accommodate all together 11 adults and six children. They will go to select families who have been on a waiting list for some time.

Tim Leach, interim CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Sonoma County, welcomed the 75 guests as well as local and state officials at the dedication event. Leach said the project was a joint effort between Habitat, Connect Homes, Cypress Community Development Corporation, GigaCrete, Opticos Design, Poppy Bank and The Press Democrat.

He also acknowledged support for the project by the office of state Sen. Mike McGuire, West Coast SIPs and Wolf Industries.

Construction also involved the North Coast Builders Exchange and graduates from the North Bay Construction Corps, who worked on the project.

Sean Salmon, senior vice president and President at Medtronic, said 222 staff members donated 1,500-plus hours to make the development possible.

Tom Schwedhelm, mayor of Santa Rosa, said these cottages are a symbol of hope for Santa Rosa.

Sonoma County Supervisor James Gore noted that 2,900 Sonoma County residents are still living in a state of homelessness, and 22,750 more could use housing — 52% from the wildfires and 60% from among those evacuated.

Gore said that while some may think these few homes are not important, he asked someone to stand wearing a T-shirt saying, "Every Home Does Make a Difference."

Supervisor Shirlee Zane recalled 30 years ago, when the Loma Prieta earthquake ravaged the Oakland area, dislocating thousands.

"Homes change lives," she said. "They make us a community, and right now we can't make enough of them."

Zane pointed out that the faith-based community, including Catholic Charities, has really stepped up to help those displaced.

Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, applauded the "amazing and incredible partnership" that produced these cottages involving the private sector and all levels of government.

"Wildfires wiped out five percent of the housing stock in Sonoma County and 7,000 residents have left the area," Thompson said. "We've got to do more with public-private support."

Misty Bastoni, director of home ownership and neighborhood revitalization for Habitat for Humanity Sonoma County, introduced four people from nine families who will be moving into these cottages as they are completed.

"When we first announced that temporary homes would be built here, 380 families came forward to be put on a list," Bastoni said. "Of this total, 42 families still do not have a place to live. Habitat picked nine of these to occupy the homes at Medtronic.

Habitat for Humanity plans to ramp up prefab home manufacturing production at its new SOMO Village location in Rohnert Park in the fourth quarter. That's when equipment and tools are expected to have been acquired, brought to the site and installed.

Leach also revealed that Habitat will start construction of 16 new homes in Windsor using traditional ground-up building techniques this fall.

"Habitat is committed to long-term recovery in Sonoma County, by building more homes than ever — 14 this year, 26 in 2020 and 60 in the pipeline for 2021, and we need your help to achieve this," Leach said.

Councilman Sam Salmon said the town of Windsor may be interested in constructing 11 temporary dwellings on a parcel of land it owns on Arata Lane.

Five temporary units by Homes for Sonoma already have been built and occupied on Old Redwood Highway north of Shiloh Road in Windsor. With proposed new construction, Windsor may become the leading municipality in the county to embrace temporary housing on a larger scale, with an estimated total of 32 units in the works, according to Salmon.