Los Angeles Times

After wildfires, Santa Rosa faces wrenching questions about its future

SANTA ROSA, Calif. - The most destructive wildfire in California history has left Santa Rosa at a fateful crossroads.

The city lost 3,000 homes - fully 5 percent of its housing stock - in the fire. Thousands remain displaced, and many are not sure where they will end up or whether they can continue to afford living in wine country, where housing is expensive and in chronically short supply.

"Nobody has been through this before," Mayor Chris Coursey said Monday. "We had a housing problem three weeks ago; now we have housing problem minus 3,000 more houses."

Many residents said they intended to rebuild as soon as

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