On July 24, 2024, at Upper Park in Chico, California, a man set his car on fire and pushed it off a 60-foot embankment. The dry vegetation around it was quickly engulfed in flames and the fire spread rapidly, climbing the ridge into the forest and eventually growing over 400,000 acres, reaching all the way to Shasta County. Because it started in the park, they named it the Park Fire.
(The photo above is a still from a video I took in our front yard in Paradise, in the footprint of the 2018 Camp Fire which destroyed the town, including our previous home on the same lot.)
My daughter was only 9 at the time of the Camp Fire. She assured us she wasn’t traumatized. But as soon as the smoke from the Park Fire was visible, she started packing her things and filling up the cars so much there wasn’t room for anyone else’s belongings. We were all clearly exhibiting PTSD.
On Friday night an evacuation warning ensued for the whole town of Paradise. Worried that it would change from a warning to an order overnight, I sent my wife and the kids ahead to my mother-in-law’s house and stayed behind with the dog, who doesn’t do well around strangers. I spent the next day trying to negotiate an Airstream purchase from dealers in the Bay area and 8 hours away in Portland, but the dealers would close for the next two days and wanted a down payment that was higher than what we had on hand. Fortunately an old work buddy reached out and offered a place to stay near his vineyard in Placerville. So we consolidated our luggage and the dog into one vehicle and went down for a few days until the evacuation warning was lifted.
Yes, I understand it was “just” a “warning”, but when the Camp Fire happened, we didn’t get a warning at all.
(We’ve decided to pursue the Airstream purchase in the near future regardless, since we seem to always need one on an emergency basis, and will need one for retirement anyways.)
A couple days after we returned home, Senate Republicans blocked a bill that had been pending since January, which would have allowed tax refunds for Camp Fire victims whose settlement monies were cut in half by lawyer fees and taxes. In response, a bunch of Camp Fire victims got on Facebook and actually blamed the Democrats for adding “pork” to the bill that would help so-called “illegals.” I quoted Leviticus 19 to them and quickly logged out. I don’t understand why people can be so violently opposed to policies that are in their own best interest. I suppose this is the story of the American working class.
For more details on the fire, the crew over at Watch Duty has been a great resource. The app has proved invaluable for keeping tabs on the evacuation details and the progress the firefighters are making.