Five years after one of the worst wildfires in American history, the town of Paradise, Calif., is slowly being rebuilt. Kirk Siegler/NPR hide caption
paradise
Dan Wentland, Sherry Wentland, Gwynn Harris, and Randy Harris (left to right) attend services at the Lantana Road Baptist Church on March 8, 2020. The couples have known each other since the 1970s and lived in Paradise, Calif., until the 2018 Camp Fire destroyed their town. Lily Jamali/KQED hide caption
After California's Camp Fire, Some People From Paradise Put Down Roots In Tennessee
Chelsea Isaacs sits on the couch in her RV with her 2-year-old twin daughters, Harper and Riley, and her mother, Kim Schwartz, on June 11 in Magalia, Calif. They have been living for almost a year in an RV after the Camp Fire destroyed their home in 2018. A month after their house burned down, Chelsea found out she was pregnant with a second set of twins with her partner, Noah. Rachel Bujalski for NPR hide caption
Kasten Ortiz plays right tackle on the offense, and says he's glad this football season has helped boost the community's sense of pride. Eric Westervelt/NPR hide caption
Paradise Bobcats Football Team Gives California Town Hope After Fires
Bottaro recognizes that the trees around her house pose a potential fire risk. She says that maintaining the vegetation in the backyard and creating defensible space around the house is one more step toward fire mitigation. Next to her house, the city hired goats to clear away overgrown raspberry bushes in a park. Meredith Rizzo/NPR hide caption
After Paradise, Living With Fire Means Redefining Resilience
Efseaff says this area of land could serve the community in the future as a park and a firebreak. Meredith Rizzo/NPR hide caption
Rethinking Disaster Recovery After A California Town Is Leveled By Wildfire
A burned-out property sits next to a home that's still standing near Paradise six months after the Camp Fire. The fire was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. Meredith Rizzo/NPR hide caption
More Than 1,000 Families Still Searching For Homes 6 Months After The Camp Fire
A resident of Mexico Beach, Fla., looks over damage caused to the Florida Panhandle by Hurricane Michael in October 2018. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption
David Anderson is a property owner and builder in Paradise, Calif. He expects the housing market to eventually come back after the Camp Fire burned nearly 90 percent of the town to the ground. Marc Albert/North State Public Radio hide caption
Cal Poly architecture students focused on reimagining and rebuilding Paradise, Calif., by presenting models, renderings and updated concepts during a community forum in Chico, Calif. Jason Halley, CSU, Chico hide caption
'Reimagining Paradise' — Making Plans To Rebuild A Town Destroyed By Wildfire
Tom and Tamara Conry stand outside their home in Paradise, Calif., which was almost untouched by November's deadly Camp Fire. Their property insurer notified them in December that it would not renew their policy past January. Pauline Bartolone/Capital Public Radio hide caption
Their Home Survived The Camp Fire — But Their Insurance Did Not
Homes leveled by the Camp Fire line Valley Ridge Drive in Paradise, Calif. Some recovery efforts are stalled by the government shutdown, creating anxiety among survivors and concern for officials. Noah Berger/AP hide caption
Shutdown Threatens To Stall Recovery In Wildfire-Ravaged Paradise, Calif.
After the Camp Fire in November, thousands of people whose homes were destroyed were forced to seek refuge in nearby Chico, Calif. Some 700 people, some in their RVs, are still living at a Red Cross shelter at the Chico fairgrounds. The shelter is expected to close at the end of January. Kirk Siegler/NPR hide caption
In The Aftermath Of The Camp Fire, A Slow, Simmering Crisis In Nearby Chico
Nathaniel Smith and Miykael Goodwin have a band name now, Cold Weather Sons, and a professionally produced single, "One of These Days." The song is a lament for the town lost to the Camp Fire in 2018. Courtesy Cold Weather Sons hide caption
President Trump visited Paradise, Calif., with Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom and Mayor Jody Jones. The town was consumed by the Camp Fire, the most destructive fire in state history. Evan Vucci/AP hide caption