camp fire struck the town of Paradise in California last year and left behind an unbelievable trail of death and destruction. Source of the fire was a faulty electric transmission line and it led to large-scale evacuation. The blaze began on November 8, 2018, raged until November 25, and burnt through nearly 150,000 acres of land. Loss of human life reached 85 but there is no record for the loss of wildlife. It is estimated that 18,000 homes and businesses were destroyed, and the population of Paradise plummeted to 2000 from 26,000. That reveals the massive nature of the disaster.

The Environment was the worst sufferer and it took a severe beating.

Daily Mail UK says Camp Fire is now the deadliest fire in the history of California and the sixth-largest in the United States. Strong winds fanned the fire and the rate at which it spread was alarming and a serious matter for concern. The authorities had no alternative but to give evacuation orders. Residents of a mobile home park retirement community were also affected. Paradise is now struggling to rise from the ashes and is in the process of rebuilding.

Rebuilding will be a long process

CalFire has officially blamed a transmission line for the Camp Fire, which spread 17 miles scorching almost 55,000 acres of land in the first 12 hours.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) estimated in May 2019 that liabilities for the damage caused by the fire would run into nearly $10.5 billion. The rebuilding will be a long drawn process and out of thousands of homes destroyed in the fire, it was possible to rebuild only 11.

Daily Mail UK quotes Mayor Jody Jones of Paradise saying – “We're building a whole town from scratch, we're really proud of that.” In view of this experience, the town has passed revised building codes that will be stricter.

One of these is to use less wooden material and increase setbacks between residences and flammable substances.

Survivors want Paradise to get a new look

According to The Guardian, the town of Paradise in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada is gradually returning to normal after being devastated by a fire one year back. The amount of debris cleared so far is more than 2.6m tons.

Some schools have reopened, as have a few grocery stores, antique shops and gas stations. Food trucks have also resurfaced and life is limping back to normal. Michael Zuccolillo, a council member of Paradise is positive about the future. He says – “You’re seeing more rebuilding. More businesses reopening. People more hopeful. The air just feels different.” However, trees that once gave shelter to birds are now just burnt stumps and the ecological balance is destroyed. It will take decades to recover from the loss in terms of the greenery, wildlife etcetera.
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