like Shasta and Trinity counties could still be at more of a disadvantage than places affected a year ago.

"Rebuilding could be slower and more challenging than last year due to these rural counties' smaller economies and tax bases compared to the suburban counties affected by 2017's wildfires," Hoffmann said.

Sonoma County, which includes Santa Rosa, has a poverty rate of 11 percent, lower than the state average of 14 percent.

But Shasta County, where Redding is located, has a rate of 19 percent. It's even higher in nearby Trinity County, at 19.7 percent. In Mendocino and Lake counties, where the Mendocino Complex Fire still rages, about one in five households live in poverty.

Money used to fund some infrastructure projects rely heavily on selling bonds to banks and investors to financenew construction, with the promise that their loans will eventually be repaid. But when wildfires roar through cities and towns, economies are impaired and communities may struggle to refinance their bonds.

After a fire, credit rating agencies examine the state of city and county finances and determine the ability of municipalities to pay back their lenders. If the report is unflattering, those areas might have a hard time finding investors willing to buy their bonds in the future -- at least at a low interest rate.

Areas in Southern California and the state's wine country, which were severely damaged by fire in 2017, had stronger economies than the rural northern counties affected this year, Hoffmann said. Santa Rosa, for instance, is part of the greater San Francisco Bay Area economy,