Thieves steal from construction crews as they rebuild homes destroyed in North Bay fires

Lisa Amin Gulezian Image
ByLisa Amin Gulezian KGO logo
Friday, May 4, 2018
Thieves steal from construction crews as they rebuild homes destroyed in North Bay fires
Thieves steal from construction crews as they rebuild homes destroyed in North Bay firesParts of Santa Rosa were leveled by the North Bay fires last year. On Willow Green Place, where some semblance of a neighborhood is coming together there has been a disturbing blow.

SANTA ROSA, Calif. (KGO) -- Parts of Santa Rosa were leveled by the North Bay fires last year. On Willow Green Place, where some semblance of a neighborhood is coming together there has been a disturbing blow.

Thieves broke into several trailers, stealing tools and material from construction crews.

Sgt. Spencer Crum from the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said, "it's a setback financially, set back in time, and really upsetting to everybody."

By phone, David Hosking from Silvermark Construction told me, "We should be out there working building homes for these people that lost homes and it sucks they're taking away our ability to do our job."

RELATED: Six months after North Bay fires, Coffey Park rises from ashes

Heavy equipment now blocks storage containers, and locks are in place.

But the feeling of being violated.... is still there.

Sandy Bills-McCown, who lost her home in Coffey Park, said, "Every day we face a new obstacle and to have this happen it's really sad."

The one thing just about everyone can agree in is that there needs to be more eyes on this area. And so the Sheriff's Dept., community members, and even the construction companies have agreed to work together to step up patrols.

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The Mays are already driving around, looking for anything suspicious.

Renee May said," I think everyone will chip in and watch out for each other. It's a good community."

Still, the timeline hasn't changed.

The first home should be finished by June.

Click here for more stories, photos, and video on the North Bay fires.

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