In fire-ravaged Paradise, California’s latest blaze brings anxiety and ‘heartbreaking’ memories

Jim Hafer, whose family first settled in Paradise in 1947, has watched his community grow amid towering trees. He’s watched residents lose their homes — and lost his own — when the historic Camp Fire reduced families’ livelihoods to ash in November 2018.

But the neighborhood has been rebuilt six years after the more than 150,000-acre wildfire swept through the town, burning nearly 19,000 structures and killing 85 people, according to Cal Fire. It was the deadliest wildfire in California history.

Now, with another huge blaze raging just a few miles away, there’s renewed fear in Paradise that the brand-new homes, some still under construction, could soon turn to crisps.

“It’s just a helpless feeling,” said Paradise resident Jessica Imrie.

The Park Fire had devastated more than 178,000 acres (278 square miles) in Butte and Tehama counties as of Friday afternoon, Cal Fire officials said. After igniting Wednesday afternoon in what investigators believe to be arson — authorities arrested a man accused of rolling his mother’s flaming vehicle down a gully just outside Chico — the new blaze has torched a greater area in two days than the Camp Fire did in its first two weeks.

With 134 homes reported to be destroyed or damaged, and others sure to be counted later, many residents of nearby Paradise are reminded of the destruction the Camp Fire caused to their town less than a decade ago.

Sherry Schlobohm, a Paradise resident for 63 years, said she struggled to escape town the last time flames were at her doorstep.

In 2018, she was stuck in stopped traffic and feared she wouldn’t be able to flee in time as the blaze spread closer. When cars finally started moving, Schlobohm said she passed flames on both sides of the four-lane road.

“I learned that if I had to evacuate, I could,” she said. “I could do it safely and get myself out.”

Her house off of Clark Road in Paradise was left unscathed following the fire, but trees in her driveway were torched and several homes in her neighborhood burned to the ground.

She said this is the first time since the Camp Fire she felt concerned fire might swallow her community again.

“Up until this now, I haven’t been really worried about it,” Schlobohm said. “I thought surely God wouldn’t let us burn again. But this one worried me.”

As of Friday afternoon, multiple areas in Paradise were under an evacuation warning, which raised concerns among some residents, including Schlobohm. Other Paradise residents, like Jerry Burton, felt confident they could weather another blaze.

Burton, who lives in northwestern Paradise, has evacuated for numerous fires over the years, saying “it’s just part of life.”

Ultimately, Burton lost the home he and his wife had lived in for 24 years during the Camp Fire.

Burton planned on moving out of the burned town, looking at homes near Fresno and Bakersfield, but those places could go up in flames too, Burton said.

Instead, he and his wife decided to rebuild their home on the same land they have lived on for more than two decades. This time, it’s more fire resistant, he said, thanks to using stucco for the building and installing his own water lines to protect the home.

“We’re very happy with the house,” Burton said. “But with this going on again, it makes you wonder whether you made the right decision.”

Burton said his wife was ready to leave when his area went under an evacuation warning on Thursday, but he is planning on staying as long as possible.

“I feel pretty confident, I don’t think I’ll ever leave again, if I don’t have to,” he said. “When I have to, it’s going to be at the very last minute.”

Preparing for fire

As Madison Ridenour pushed her 2-year-old daughter, Ava King, on a swing set Friday at Bille Park in Paradise, she tried to not fret too much about a fire she had no control over. At 32 weeks pregnant, she decided the best course of action was to take her toddler to the playground to have some fun on a not-so-normal day.

“I am … kind of disassociated,” she said. “I cannot panic in an emergency — that helps nobody.”

She compared this fire to the Camp Fire that sparked orange skies and an apocalyptic feel in Paradise. She said the Park Fire has spooked a community who remember all too well the devastation that occurred last time, but “we are not there yet,” she said. No fatalities or major injuries had been reported in the Park Fire as of Friday evening.

The soon-to-be mother of two said she had her bags packed and had a place to stay at her grandmother’s house in Chico if she received evacuation orders.

Jessica Imrie spotted neighbors packing up as evacuation warnings were issued. She said the roads in her normally quiet neighborhood turned busy Thursday night as residents drove away, but many decided to remain behind.

“We are pretty anxious,” she said. “I think the whole community is pretty anxious. You can see it.”

The area, once covered in trees six years ago, now features dry grasses, but some residents said they felt confident enough to stay. Many have built defensible spaces around their homes, which strengthened their confidence that the Park Fire won’t scorch their property, Imrie said.

She noted some people experienced post-traumatic stress disorder from the Camp Fire, which led them to leave as soon as the Park Fire evacuation warnings were issued for the area.

“It’s just heartbreaking,” she said, witnessing her neighborhood empty out again.

She lost her home in the Camp Fire, but decided to rebuild on different land. Over the years, she has slowly watched her neighborhood come back to life. Even though her family didn’t return to Paradise after 2018, the town’s strong community prompted Imrie to stay.

“There’s a feeling that … you cannot replace.”

Everyone in town knows each other, she said.