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Lake Madrone, near Brush Creek on Div MM .

Residents of the fire-ravaged town of Paradise, California, are now allowed to return home. But fewer than 10 percent of the 26,000 residents may find their house still standing and salvageable.

While there is a natural instinct to head to California over the holidays to help them rebuild, unsolicited volunteers may become part of the disaster as the town tries to sort through immediate needs.

“It is just heartbreaking," admitted Dusty Parsons with Habitat for Humanity's Central Arizona chapter, who is looking ahead at the longterm needs. "A sustained effort is going to be needed.”

The first phase will be stabilizing the area for rebuilding.

“The soil has to be evaluated, the ground has to be evaluated, the infrastructure has to be evaluated,” Parsons explained.

At that point, Arizonans who want to physically help with rebuilding will be in demand.

“I’d give it a window of three to six months," he estimated. And, even then, "We would recommend going in with a Habitat crew on the rebuilding side.”

For the moment, Parsons said donating money or building supplies to Arizona’s local Habitat for Humanity chapters will benefit ongoing rebuilding efforts, including California communities recently hit by wildfires.