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Last fire season took their community. Their advice for others: 'Don’t give up and don’t look back'

Both men said they revisited their insurance to double check their coverage. They said it's extremely important to know how you are covered if a disaster like this comes your way.

Santa Rosa, Calif. — If you're viewing on the ABC10 App, tap here for multimedia.

Peter Lang will never forget last October when he almost lost it all in the Tubbs Fire — the most destructive fire in California's modern history.

His Sonoma County wildlife preserve, Safari West, could have easily burned to the ground if it wasn’t for some quick thinking.

"Garden hoses, forklifts, tractors," Lang began to describe. "I used different things to make a difference wherever I was doing it."

Lang and his staff saved about 900 animals that night while his own home down the street burned.

"You mope about it or you move forward and we chose to move forward," he added.

He focused all his energy on his safari and his animals.

"It was pretty grim after the fire," Lang said. "There’s no doubt about that, but the resiliency of nature is really remarkable and areas that you thought were hopelessly burned, are doing OK."

Meanwhile, closer to town, in Coffey Park, many homeowners are rebuilding.

"It’s very active, but a positive feeling, for us to see the rebuilding going on, you know," said Coffey Park resident Dan Hageman. "We are finally seeing progress and people come around excited to see their homes are being built."

Hageman fought the fire that night and protected his home, while the homes across the street were destroyed. The experience changed him and his outlook on fires.

"There’s a lot of things you think about a little bit different," Hageman said.

But both of these men say the biggest lesson learned is don’t give up and don’t look back because you can always rebuild what’s lost.

"Didn’t think about what was gone, just what’s in the future," Lang said. "Plus, I’m too old to worry about what I lost. I better have fun with what I got left."

Both Lang and Hageman said they revisited their insurance to double check their coverage. They said it’s extremely important to know how you are covered if a disaster like this comes your way.

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