Karen Orlando, a real estate agent in the Sonoma Valley, has seen the rebuilding process in Sonoma County play out in distinct ways between “the really wealthy and then those who are just getting by.”

Ms. Orlando said that for those with insurance and the means, rebuilding has been a kind of therapy after the trauma of losing a home; reclaiming those spaces is a way to soldier through grief, she said.

“Some people have decided to buy a lot maybe with a better view than what they had,” she said. “Some people want to rebuild on the lot but now they get the chance to build the home of their dreams. They get to pick out all the finishes and fixtures and imagine all the landscaping.”

After the Wine Country fires in 2017 destroyed their hillside home with a priceless mountain view, Joan and Nick Flint received $1 million for the rebuild, not enough to match what they once had. They ended up paying another $1 million out of pocket.

Standing outside their new home on Tuesday — white brick with an Escalade in the garage — Ms. Flint said she realized how lucky they were that they could afford to do that.

“We’re not a hard-luck story by any means,” she said. “We feel blessed.”

Fires this week in Southern California forced evacuations of celebrities like LeBron James and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Mr. James tweeted that he was driving around trying to find a hotel room after he fled his home. (His home did not burn, nor did Mr. Schwarzenegger’s.)