Photos show Paradise, California, one year after the worst US wildfire in a century killed 85 people and destroyed a community
Getty
In November 2018, the Camp fire tore through Butte County, California, razing the town of Paradise and killing 85 people.
One year on, authorities and former residents still struggle with the carnage left by the fire as they rebuild their lives and homes.
Many homes are still rubble, with charred soil, and burnt-out cars at every turn. Some areas, however, are slowly getting back to how they were.
Scroll down to see photos of what Paradise looks like a year after it was destroyed by the deadliest US fire in a century.
One year ago, on November 8, 2018, a wildfire tore through Butte County, California, causing 250,000 people to flee their homes. The blaze later hit the town of Paradise, killing 85 people.
One year on, the community is still reeling from the disaster, the deadliest wildfire in the US for more than 100 years, and the clean-up effort drags on.
92% of the town's population have not returned. Those who did are determined to build a new home there.
Scroll down to see photos of how Paradise and Butte County look today.
On November 8, 2018, the Camp fire broke out in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, spreading at a rate of around 300 ft per second towards the town of Paradise.
REUTERS/Stephen Lam
The town was engulfed by flames a few days later. 85 people died and close to 19,000 buildings were destroyed. Here's what it looks like one year on, a single building rebuilt amidst the destruction.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Source: Insider
This composite image shows a ruined mobile home park in Paradise in November 2018, and below, the same park on October 2, 2019.
Getty
Paradise residents have returned, and are still rebuilding their homes and businesses.
Getty
Large swathes of land are still littered with debris and wreckage.
Getty
Some things survived, but they stand in stark contrast to what was lost.
Getty
The cleanup operation is still very much ongoing. The fire caused an estimated $16.5 billion of damage.
Getty
Source: Munich RE
Tributes have been laid in advance of the one-year anniversary of the fire on November 8.
Getty
Volunteers from the community action group Love Paradise are working hard to make as much progress as possible before the one-year anniversary.
KRCR News
Source: KRCR
A total 153,336 acres of land were consumed by fire, and nothing was spared.
ABC
Homes were completely destroyed, only identifiable from the brick chimneys which survived.
Getty
The Camp fire was unprecedented, even for California, where 25% of the state's residents are always exposed to a "very high or extreme fire threat."
Getty
Source: Cal Fire
In some places, wildlife has started to reclaim the wreckage.
AP
The last Paradise resident to be accounted for, Sara Martinez-Fabila, was found safe nine months after the fire in August 2019.
Getty
Source: KRCRTV
Residents are still coming to terms with the disaster, like the coach of local high school football team Rick Prinz.
ABC
Some residents are still on Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) wait lists to have their homes cleared.
Gizmodo/Earther
Source: Gizmodo Earther
Much of the rubble is being sifted though to find materials that can be recycled.
Cal Recycle/Twitter
Source: Cal Recycle
Multiple Facebook groups of former Paradise residents looking for cherished possessions or charitable donations to get back on their feet are still active.
AP Photo/Noah Berger
The California governor's office conducted a survey in April 2019 to find out who had returned to Paradise after the fire.
The number of residents had dropped from 26,000 to 2,000, a loss of 92% of the town population.
Source: California Government
This map, made by Camp fire survivor David Forsyth, shows where former residents live in the US now.
Google Maps/My Maps/David Forsyth
Source: Google Maps My Maps
The Camp fire started at 6:33 a.m. on November 8, 2018, and was not totally extinguished until 8:00 a.m. on November 21.
NASA Earth Observatory
Source: California Department of Forestry and Fire
The fire was caused by a faulty power line owned by electricity provider Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E.) PG&E must pay more than $500 million to the Camp fire victims.
Gizmodo Earther
PGE has since filed for bankruptcy.
Source: Gizmodo Earther
