Paradise Redux—Revisiting Paradise on the fifth anniversary of the Camp Fire by J. Matt

On November 8, 2018 the Town of...in over 100 years. Paradise USA

On November 8, 2018 the Town of Paradise and notable outlying unincorporated areas were immolated by the fast-moving Camp Fire. The wildfire killed 85 people directly and contributed to more than 50 associated deaths, at the time it was the deadliest fire in the U.S. in over 100 years. Paradise USA

At the time of the Camp Fire 20...structures burned. Paradise USA

At the time of the Camp Fire 2018 represented the largest area burned by wildfire in California's history—1.9 million acres saw wildfire. In Paradise few buildings remained after the Camp Fire burned through town, the old train depot was one of those buildings not among the 18,793 structures burned. Paradise USA

The Camp Fire spawned many new ...r individual risk. Paradise USA

The Camp Fire spawned many new initiatives to address fire preparedness and public policy relating to wildfire. 'Be Ready Butte' was launched in January 2023 by Cal Fire to provide comprehensive information regarding preparedness, evacuation, and prevention from the point of view that Sierra wildfire is an inevitability that can be prepared for in order to lower individual risk. Paradise USA

Pacific Gas & Electric ...ing the Camp Fire. Paradise USA

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), the nation's largest utility, admitted its equipment set the Camp Fire and pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter and paid an associated $3.5 million dollar fine for those charges and the single charge of illegally setting a fire. In addition to the criminal consequences of setting the fire, PG&E settled for $13.5 billion dollars the claims of fire victims of 2018's Camp Fire, and the following fires: the Dixie Fire (2015). Wine Country Fires (2017), the Kincade Fire (2019), and the Dixie Fire (2021) all of which were started by PG&E equipment failures. In April of 2022 PG&E settled with prosecutors for an additional $55 million to avoid criminal charges in these fires, fearing the outcome of criminal proceedings similar to those it had faced for its equipment sparking the Camp Fire. Paradise USA

One of the few remaining views ...urned in the area. Paradise USA

One of the few remaining views of what can be considered to be "old Paradise" or paradise prior to 2018's Camp Fire showing what had been typical of Paradise's development amidst grand, old fir trees. The Paradise ridge region drew new and old residents for its combination of forested beauty, relatively low housing costs, and established public infrastructure—in addition of course to historical ties to the area. It had been nearly a century since the last significant fire burned in the area. Paradise USA

A young artist begins her Sierr... November 8, 2018. Paradise USA

A young artist begins her Sierra landscape view at the 'Paint Your Paradise' event, one of nearly back-to-back events scheduled throughout the week of the Town of Paradise's honoring the remembrance of the Camp Fire's devastation of the community on November 8, 2018. Paradise USA

Two painters confer over their ... November 8, 2018. Paradise USA

Two painters confer over their Sierra landscape views at the 'Paint Your Paradise' event which drew over 60 people to participate in an instructional painting opportunity organized by the Paradise Art Center. The lesson was one of nearly back-to-back events scheduled throughout the week of the Town of Paradise's honoring the remembrance of the Camp Fire's devastation of the community on November 8, 2018. Paradise USA

On the fifth anniversary of the...rning of the fire. Paradise USA

On the fifth anniversary of the Camp Fire the local Paradise Masonic Lodge hosted a pancake breakfast in its temple building and memorial installations in its meeting hall to acknowledge the fire and recovery, while honoring those lost and the effects on the community of just over 26,000 people—all of whom had their lives unimaginably changed on the morning of the fire. Paradise USA

An important part of the Town o... year's time. Paradise USA

An important part of the Town of Paradise's remembrance of the fifth anniversary of the Camp Fire was the dedication of a time capsule on November 8, 2023. The time capsule is filled with community contributions and will be opened in 20 year's time. Paradise USA

On November 5, 2023 at the town...this date in 2018. Paradise USA

On November 5, 2023 at the town's official memorial event residents of the Town of Paradise sit for 85 seconds of silence in honor of those 85 accounted for in the official death toll who perished in the deadly Camp Fire on this date in 2018. Paradise USA

The Camp Fire Pet and Wildlife ... in April of 2022. Paradise USA

The Camp Fire Pet and Wildlife Memorial in Bille Park overlooking the Butte Creek Canyon was dedicated to the pets, working animals and wildlife that "perished in the fire or were never found" in April of 2022. Paradise USA

Hand-painted markers at the The... in April of 2022. Paradise USA

Hand-painted markers at the The Camp Fire Pet and Wildlife Memorial in Bille Park overlooking the Butte Creek Canyon. The memorial is dedicated to the pets, working animals and wildlife that "perished in the fire or were never found" in April of 2022. Paradise USA

Laser cut commemorative art at ...agalia and Concow. Paradise USA

Laser cut commemorative art at the November 8, 2023 event commemorating pets and other animals lost in the Camp Fire's destruction of Paradise and parts of unincorporated Magalia and Concow. Paradise USA

TIM BOLIN, an executive pastor ...d for three years. Paradise USA

TIM BOLIN, an executive pastor at Paradise Alliance Church addresses Paradesians assembled for a reunion dinner during a week of Camp Fire memorial events centered around the fifth anniversary of the fire. The church served 350 meals this night to bring people who had come together for meals at the church on Thursdays after the fire back together for one last Thursday dinner. The dinners, conceptualized as a short-term service begun six months after the fire, continued for three years. Paradise USA

TIM BOLIN, an executive pastor ...h of the disaster. Paradise USA

TIM BOLIN, an executive pastor at Paradise Alliance Church leads Paradesians assembled for a reunion dinner during a week of Camp Fire memorial events in prayer. The church served 350 meals this night to bring people who had come together for meals at the church on Thursdays after the fire back together for one last Thursday dinner. Alliance's dinners were an important part of maintaining a sense of community after the fire, drawing people from near and far to see friends scattered in the aftermath of the disaster. Paradise USA

Volunteers at Paradise Alliance...h of the disaster. Paradise USA

Volunteers at Paradise Alliance Church assembled to prepare a reunion dinner serving 350 meals during a week of Camp Fire memorial events. Alliance's Thursday dinners were an important part of maintaining a sense of community after the fire, drawing people from near and far to see friends scattered in the aftermath of the disaster. Paradise USA

Receiving dinner at the Paradis...h of the disaster. Paradise USA

Receiving dinner at the Paradise Alliance Church Thursday reunion during a week of Camp Fire memorial events. Alliance's Thursday dinners were an important part of maintaining a sense of community after the fire, drawing people from near and far to see friends scattered in the aftermath of the disaster. Paradise USA

PG&E is a critical part... and tradespeople. Paradise USA

PG&E is a critical part of the rebuilding of Paradise, California after the Camp Fire, not least for the settlement monies it has paid in the aftermath of the fire it started. Removing damaged power lines, installing new underground electrical services, repairing and replacing gas distribution damaged by the fire, PG&E and its work is everywhere to be seen—from utility marking on streets and sidewalks to its own and its contractors' equipment and tradespeople. Paradise USA

One of the legacies of the Camp...e would be deadly. Paradise USA

One of the legacies of the Camp Fire has been reckoning with the fact that a majority of those killed in the inferno were aged, mobility-impaired, socially isolated, or lacked vehicular means of escape. This is a reality that could have been true in any town facing a fire of this magnitude—Paradise had at the time of the fire one of the best disaster evacuation plans in California. A combination of an incredibly fast-moving fire with a two mile long front, dense vegetation and tree cover and the "pine straw" it drops, and jammed or burned over evacuation routes ensured the Camp Fire would be deadly. Paradise USA

Chalked messages and tempera pa...s memorial events. Paradise USA

Chalked messages and tempera paint handprints adorn a concrete wall at the site of Hope Plaza—a public park and memorial being constructed on Skyway Boulevard, the main drag through the Town of Paradise. The town was destroyed by the Camp Fire five years prior to the day this picture was made and the wall became an impromptu memorial as part of the anniversary week's memorial events. Paradise USA

ADD CAPTION W/ PEOPLE NAMED IN ALL CAPS Paradise USA

By chance the Paradise Town Hal...unicipal building. Paradise USA

By chance the Paradise Town Hall building was spared by the Camp Fire as it ravaged the town, destroying nearly all of the buildings surrounding the municipal building. Paradise USA

Another chance survivor of the ...al Fire personnel. Paradise USA

Another chance survivor of the Camp Fire's devastation of the Town of Paradise was Fire Station 81, even as the devastation around the four blocks where the fire station remained unburned was substantial and thorough. The station and its equipment and apparatus is owned by the town and staffed by Cal Fire personnel. Paradise USA

On November 9, 2023, five years...k with counselors. Paradise USA

On November 9, 2023, five years after the Camp Fire the Boys & Girls Clubs of the North Valley held a grand opening of its reconstituted facility in Paradise. Serving grilled hot dogs with all the fixings the club welcomed teens, parents, employees, and all who worked to open the facility. At the teen center there are music, art and computer digital fabrication rooms as well as places to hang out, play foosball, and talk with counselors. Paradise USA

In January of 2020 the Town of ... of the Camp Fire. Paradise USA

In January of 2020 the Town of Paradise opened the Building Resilience Center to consolidate permit operations in a single location and increase staff numbers. Located in what had previously been the local Bank of America branch constructed in 1975, the bank donated the building which sustained only minor damage during the course of the Camp Fire. Paradise USA

A fire-retardant building vent ...fire preparedness. Paradise USA

A fire-retardant building vent on display at the Town of Paradise Building Resilience Center. The Camp Fire has caused the town to require new construction in Paradise to be built to the strictures of the 2022 California Fire Code's provisions for building in areas of Extreme Wildfire Exposure, some of the toughest building requirements in the country for fire preparedness. Paradise USA

CASEY TAYLOR rebuilt her home b...ation are kept up. Paradise USA

CASEY TAYLOR rebuilt her home burned to the ground by the Camp Fire in 2018 as the nation's first Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) "wildfire-prepared home" in the nation. Maintaining this certification demands reinspections annually to ensure perimeter fire buffer areas are maintained as well as verifying that all exterior prescriptions required of certification are kept up. Paradise USA

EMILY WYCOFF (painting at left)...ter the Camp Fire. Paradise USA

EMILY WYCOFF (painting at left), STEVE FERSCHAUD (on ladder), and BRIANNA WILLIAMS (painting at right) put the finishing touches on mural at the Paradise Art Center as part of both the larger community remembrance of the fire and celebration of the community itself. After the fire the seasonal blooming of daffodils provided the first blooms to emerge from the ashes of Paradise. For some the flowers have become symbolic of the regeneration of Paradise and its outlying areas after the Camp Fire. Paradise USA

EMILY WYCOFF (painting at left)...ists and artisans. Paradise USA

EMILY WYCOFF (painting at left), STEVE FERSCHAUD (center), and BRIANNA WILLIAMS (painting at right) put the finishing touches on mural at the Paradise Art Center as part of both the larger community remembrance of the fire and celebration of the community itself. FERSCHAUD, a commercial and children's book illustrator, led the design and painting of the mural. He lives in and has strong attachments to Paradise and its community of artists and artisans. Paradise USA

The previous site of Kalico Kit...re slowly rebuilt. Paradise USA

The previous site of Kalico Kitchen, a popular local restaurant destroyed in the fire, now home to Robbie's Paradise Burgers food truck. A fire of the scope of the Camp Fire demands a great deal of flexibility in recovery. Food trucks are answering some of that need as the buildings that housed previously beloved restaurants are slowly rebuilt. Paradise USA

An electrical transformer newly... evacuation route. Paradise USA

An electrical transformer newly sited and installed in Paradise, California. The Camp Fire's cause was the failure of a PG&E high voltage transmission line's rigging hardware in high winds about five miles from Paradise. High winds felling power lines are a common cause of wildfire ignition to prevent this PG&E and other pole-top utilities have undergrounded more than 80 miles of distribution possibly lessening fire risk and increasing evacuation route safety. This transformer serves a shopping plaza along Skyway Blvd, a principal evacuation route. Paradise USA

All over Paradise, California t... readied for work. Paradise USA

All over Paradise, California there can be found unmarked heavy equipment from drill rigs to lineman's trucks like this one. The rebuilding of the town after the Camp Fire has created a not insignificant construction boom as infrastructure and structures are rebuilt. Many infrastructure contractors ramped up so quickly that there was not time to paint new leased or purchased vehicles—they were just accepted from manufacturers and customizers as quickly as they were readied for work. Paradise USA

A view of the Adventist Feather...taste in Paradise. Paradise USA

A view of the Adventist Feather River Hospital in Paradise, California on November 11, 2023. The hospital was the site of an incredible evacuation as the Camp Fire burned through its emergency facilities and other older parts of the small campus. In July of this year it was announced that the facility would not re-open, instead Adventist Health plans to use $2 million of the $128 million dollar settlement from its insurance carrier to increase services at its Skyway health clinic. In addition to its insurance settlement, Adventist Health received an undisclosed financial settlement from PG&E. Struggling prior to the fire the hospital was being considered for re-use; possibly as a skilled nursing or mental health facility. After being granted hard-fought regulatory dispensation from the state and Town of Paradise to retain a small emergency facility in the remaining campus Adventist Health's departure has left a bitter taste in Paradise. Paradise USA

For all of the work that has be...irety, or quickly. Paradise USA

For all of the work that has been completed in the period since the Camp fire burned through Paradise, California there are still more instances of physical reminders of loss than rejuvenation. The area's history reaches back over 100 years and the accrued development of such a history will not likely be replaced in its entirety, or quickly. Paradise USA

A delivery of trash receptacle ...town might reveal. Paradise USA

A delivery of trash receptacle street furniture sits along Skyway Blvd., Paradise, California's principal commercial strip. The strip had been decimated by the Camp Fire in 2018 and is making a slow but concerted recovery in spots with new restaurants, municipal buildings, and many of the pre-fire buildings that weren't destroyed re-occupied or re-opened. A remarkable recovery has been made in five years, two of which were occupied by the worldwide Covid pandemic. Though much of Paradise shows visible absence of what had been, the spirit of the townspeople is far more inspiring than a casual drive through town might reveal. Paradise USA

A view West from the Skyway Blv...town might reveal. Paradise USA

A view West from the Skyway Blvd. business district in Paradise, California. The strip had been decimated by the Camp Fire in 2018 and is making a slow but concerted recovery in spots with new restaurants, municipal buildings, and many of the pre-fire buildings that weren't destroyed re-occupied or re-opened. A remarkable recovery has been made in five years, two of which were occupied by the worldwide Covid pandemic. Though much of Paradise shows visible absence of what had been, the spirit of the townspeople is far more inspiring than a casual drive through town might reveal. Paradise USA

Five years after the Camp Fire ... recovery efforts. Paradise USA

Five years after the Camp Fire there are reminders everywhere of the fire's consequences in Paradise. For residents these bits of evidence fade into the background of lives being reconstituted in what had been the burn zone of the fire even as they can be jarring for a visitor. In either case when noticed they remind the viewer of the enormity of the fire's catastrophe and the stakes of the town's recovery efforts. Paradise USA

The site of single family home ...the Feather River. Paradise USA

The site of single family home destroyed by the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California. Each building site constituted a haz-mat scene and all evidence of the fire was removed and remediated or interred. Subsequent to that building slabs and foundations, and any contaminated soil beneath them, was removed to be disposed of revealing the red volcanic soil characteristic of the Sierra Foothills near the Feather River. Paradise USA

The site of single family home destroyed by the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California surrounded by newly built homes. Each building site constituted a haz-mat scene and all evidence of the fire was removed and remediated or interred. Subsequent to that building slabs and foundations, and any contaminated soil beneath them, was removed to be disposed of revealing the red volcanic soil characteristic of the Sierra Foothills near the Feather River. Paradise USA

The bare red earth of the remed...maged by wildfire. Paradise USA

The bare red earth of the remediated site of single family home destroyed by the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California is visible between two rebuilt homes and beneath both surviving trees and a fallen snag—a tree damaged by wildfire. Paradise USA

New custom and manufactured sin...e the fire burned. Paradise USA

New custom and manufactured single family homes rebuilt on sites destroyed by the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California. Two remaining fir trees, one that survived the fire and one that did not, give a sense of scale to the forest that once blanketed this residential neighborhood. Where once Paradise was a forest town returned residents can be heard referring to the visibility of spectacular Sierra-Nevada sunsets that can now be readily seen since the fire burned. Paradise USA

Working at setting gutter scree...tial neighborhood. Paradise USA

Working at setting gutter screens on a newly built single family home in Paradise, California. five years after the Camp Fire burned through this residential neighborhood. Paradise USA

A sign for the Camp Fire Surviv...r the fire burned. Paradise USA

A sign for the Camp Fire Survivor Resource Center in Magalia, California indicates that the center is still open, five years and two days after the fire burned. Paradise USA

The flinty unincorporated mount...039;s a stand-out. Paradise USA

The flinty unincorporated mountain town of Magalia, California just North of Paradise is a typical Sierra town—so beautifully sited in the mountains event the Hilltop Cafe's dumpsters have a view while the trees surrounding them show evidence of the Camp Fire's burning through the area five years ago. By all means stop in at the Hilltop Cafe for their burrito, it's a stand-out. Paradise USA

A stand of fir trees burned out... Sierra Foothills. Paradise USA

A stand of fir trees burned out by the Camp Fire between Magalian and Stirling City in the Sierra Foothills. Paradise USA

ADD CAPTION W/ PEOPLE NAMED IN ALL CAPS Paradise USA

Magalia, California; Cal Fire i... November of 2023. Paradise USA

Magalia, California; Cal Fire is looking to staff volunteer firefighter positions in November of 2023. Paradise USA

A California Conservation Corps...November 11, 2023. Paradise USA

A California Conservation Corps ("Hard Work, Low Pay, Miserable Conditions, and More!") wildland fire service hand crew member uses his drip torch to light a brush pile created in preparation for the Loafer Creek Vegetation Management Project, part of the larger 330 acre Cohasset Prescribed Burn on November 11, 2023. Paradise USA

On November 11, 2023 Cal Fire l... by the Camp Fire. Cohasset USA

On November 11, 2023 Cal Fire led the prescribed burn of 330 acres of Sierra Foothill pine and oak forest as part of a larger effort to create firebreaks Northeast of the Northern California Town of Paradise. The burn coincided with a week of memorials for the fifth anniversary of the destruction of the Town of Paradise and outlying areas by the Camp Fire. Cohasset USA

A California Conservation Corps ("Hard Work, Low Pay, Miserable Conditions, and More!") wildland fire service hand crew member uses his drip torch to light a brush pile created in preparation for the Loafer Creek Vegetation Management Project, part of the larger 330 acre Cohasset Prescribed Burn on November 11, 2023. Paradise USA

California Conservation Corps (...November 11, 2023. Paradise USA

California Conservation Corps ("Hard Work, Low Pay, Miserable Conditions, and More!") wildland fire service hand crews assemble in preparation before descending into Cave Creek Valley working the 330 acre Cohasset Prescribed Burn on November 11, 2023. Paradise USA

A view of the extensive and pub...heir fire shelter. Paradise USA

A view of the extensive and public real-time wildfire monitoring camera system available to Cal Fire and other fire services to aid response time to wildfire incidents. There is barely a spot in the state that is invisible to the system. The monitoring service is a project of the UC San Diego working with partners across the state to provide meteorological and visual data in aiding preparation and response to wildfire. It is so real-time and detailed that all on today's burn were advised to maintain their PPE as top Cal Fire brass would be watching the day's burn online and did not want to see anyone without their helmet or fire coats on and not carrying their fire shelter. Paradise USA

California Conservation Corps ("Hard Work, Low Pay, Miserable Conditions, and More!") wildland fire service hand crews assemble in preparation before descending into Cave Creek Valley working the 330 acre Cohasset Prescribed Burn on November 11, 2023. Paradise USA

California Conservation Corps ("Hard Work, Low Pay, Miserable Conditions, and More!") wildland fire service hand crews work the fire line descending into Cave Creek Valley working the 330 acre Cohasset Prescribed Burn on November 11, 2023. Paradise USA

A Cal Fire Super Huey helicopte...November 11, 2023. Paradise USA

A Cal Fire Super Huey helicopter flies through smoke after lighting brush in the Cave Creek Valley to increase smoke updraft with its "Heli-Torch" while working the 330 acre Cohasset Prescribed Burn on November 11, 2023. Paradise USA

The fire line looking into Cave...November 11, 2023. Paradise USA

The fire line looking into Cave Creek Valley during the 330 acre Cohasset Prescribed Burn on November 11, 2023. Paradise USA

A Cal Fire Super Huey helicopte...rcraft to respond. Paradise USA

A Cal Fire Super Huey helicopter returns to its incident landing site above the Cave Creek Valley with its "Heli-Torch"hanging below it while working the 330 acre Cohasset Prescribed Burn on November 11, 2023. Cal Fire maintains the largest and most advanced civil aerial firefighting fleet in the world. It can have air resources on a fire anywhere in California within 20 minutes of discovering the fire, if conditions allow for aircraft to fly—an issue both the nation's highest loss of life wildfire incidents faced; wind conditions were not safe to send pilots, aerially dispatched firefighters, and aircraft to respond. Paradise USA

Smoke hangs above the 330 acre ...November 11, 2023. Paradise USA

Smoke hangs above the 330 acre Cohasset Prescribed Burn Northeast of Paradise, California on November 11, 2023. Paradise USA

Paradise-based Hanski Family Fa...nagement projects. Paradise USA

Paradise-based Hanski Family Farms uses goats and sheep under the care of herdsmen and Anatolian shepherds to graze firebreaks and undertake vegetation management projects. Paradise USA

A view into the Butte Creek Can...vel this distance. Paradise USA

A view into the Butte Creek Canyon from the Watershed Overlook. In 2018 the Camp Fire originating at the Jarbo Gap crossed the West Branch of the Feather River, and ran through the Town of Paradise and burned into the Butte Creek Canyon—a distance of about 12 miles as the crow flies. It took the fire little more than four hours to travel this distance. Paradise USA

Tying a balloon to a lock set o...k Canyon overlook. Paradise USA

Tying a balloon to a lock set on the fence at the Butte Creek Canyon overlook. Paradise USA

A sign for a crisis prevention ...ced after the fire Paradise USA

A sign for a crisis prevention hotline at the Butte Creek Canyon overlook in Paradise, California. The Camp Fire's destruction of the town in 2018, expectedly, created mental health problems and increases in substance abuse seen in local treatment facilities. These signs were placed after the fire Paradise USA

J. Matt

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