Tracking Rebuilding Progress One Year after North Bay Fires
On the one-year anniversary of the horrible North Bay fires, Bay Area Council Economic Institute President Micah Weinberg joined KQED Forum this week for an in-depth discussion with local leaders on the progress being made to recover and rebuild. The Economic Institute has been working closely with leaders from Sonoma County and Santa Rosa to assemble data and analysis related to the fire that will guide new policies that can track and speed the rebuilding and provide greater resilience against future fires.
Weinberg was joined on stage during the live broadcast at the Luther Burbank Convention Center by host Michael Krasny, Santa Rosa Mayor Chris Coursey, City Councilmember Julie Coombs and Santa Rosa Press Democrat reporter JD Morris. Much of the discussion focused on the urgent need for more housing. Even before the fire, which destroyed more than 4,600 homes, Sonoma County had the highest number of housing cost-burdened households in the Bay Area. City and county officials have set a goal of building 30,000 housing units to address the historic shortage and affordability crisis and replace the units lost to the blazes.
