WEBVTT FILE 1 00:00:00.700 --> 00:00:03.723 - We wanted to find out what some of our peers thought. 2 00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:07.000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 3 00:00:04.670 --> 00:00:07.723 So we asked a few PHS students. 4 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:13.000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 5 00:00:09.127 --> 00:00:11.493 (static sound) 6 00:00:11.493 --> 00:00:14.326 (slow calm music) 7 00:00:21.981 --> 00:00:24.183 (strong winds blowing) 8 00:00:24.183 --> 00:00:28.067 - Well, here's our house, 9 00:00:28.067 --> 00:00:30.177 (fire crackling) 10 00:00:30.177 --> 00:00:33.833 everything around us is on fire. 11 00:00:36.494 --> 00:00:38.077 Oh man this is bad. 12 00:00:41.136 --> 00:00:46.136 Can't really see very well, oh man, this is bad. 13 00:00:48.110 --> 00:00:50.367 There goes our house, it's all engulfed now. 14 00:00:52.309 --> 00:00:55.059 (fire crackling) 15 00:01:06.280 --> 00:01:10.263 Well, don't know what to say, 16 00:01:11.200 --> 00:01:13.929 just thought I would video this in case it's the last time 17 00:01:13.929 --> 00:01:15.929 some of you guys see me. 18 00:01:22.330 --> 00:01:24.100 - [Ev Durán] For my entire life, 19 00:01:24.100 --> 00:01:26.440 whenever someone asked me where I was from 20 00:01:26.440 --> 00:01:29.080 and I would respond, "Oh, I'm from Paradise," 21 00:01:29.080 --> 00:01:31.860 they would always look at me kinda weird. 22 00:01:31.860 --> 00:01:35.260 They're never really quite sure what to do with that answer. 23 00:01:35.260 --> 00:01:37.300 So they'd say something like, "No... really?" 24 00:01:37.300 --> 00:01:39.430 And I'd say, "Yeah, no, really, it's a town, 25 00:01:39.430 --> 00:01:42.390 it's called Paradise." And they'd laugh and tell me 26 00:01:42.390 --> 00:01:44.500 they thought I was joking and I'd smile 27 00:01:44.500 --> 00:01:46.480 that same polite smile that we all have 28 00:01:46.480 --> 00:01:47.970 when you're in a conversation you've had 29 00:01:47.970 --> 00:01:51.470 a thousand times before, and the follow up question 30 00:01:51.470 --> 00:01:54.680 would always be, without fail, 31 00:01:54.680 --> 00:01:57.493 "Well, is it really Paradise?" 32 00:01:58.717 --> 00:02:00.674 - Here on this area and like here 33 00:02:00.674 --> 00:02:03.122 where the trees are around, 34 00:02:03.122 --> 00:02:05.608 but don't go any further than that okay, 35 00:02:05.608 --> 00:02:10.608 'cause there's (indistinct) 36 00:02:10.630 --> 00:02:13.100 - [Ev Durán] This is the Rauscher family. 37 00:02:13.100 --> 00:02:15.580 Parents: Richie and Savannah, 38 00:02:15.580 --> 00:02:17.963 kids: Anneliese and Richard. 39 00:02:19.810 --> 00:02:22.680 On November 8th, 2018, the Camp Fire 40 00:02:22.680 --> 00:02:25.300 took their entire home and everything in it. 41 00:02:25.300 --> 00:02:27.780 For the kids, this is their first time visiting 42 00:02:27.780 --> 00:02:29.373 their property since the fire. 43 00:02:31.421 --> 00:02:32.769 - What do you think? 44 00:02:32.769 --> 00:02:35.280 - It's still good, just put a net. 45 00:02:35.280 --> 00:02:38.642 - Yeah, just put a net in it, clean it off a little bit. 46 00:02:38.642 --> 00:02:40.660 - Yeah, it's a little rusty, maybe paint it red. 47 00:02:41.770 --> 00:02:45.173 - Nah, leave the paint, just put a new net on. 48 00:02:48.200 --> 00:02:49.744 - Am I allowed to touch it? 49 00:02:49.744 --> 00:02:53.093 - Nah, I wouldn't touch it, not without gloves on. 50 00:02:56.750 --> 00:02:58.810 There's something else I wanna show you. 51 00:02:58.810 --> 00:03:01.560 (metal creaking) 52 00:03:05.825 --> 00:03:07.242 Yeah, stay there. 53 00:03:14.410 --> 00:03:15.243 Hey bud, 54 00:03:20.270 --> 00:03:22.663 all three of our face cages. 55 00:03:23.611 --> 00:03:24.893 - Wait, where's my hockey bag? 56 00:03:24.893 --> 00:03:27.233 - Dude, your hockey bag did not survive. 57 00:03:28.670 --> 00:03:30.690 Did you wanna try and move some of the roof 58 00:03:30.690 --> 00:03:32.620 to look for the ring? 59 00:03:32.620 --> 00:03:34.052 - Yeah. 60 00:03:34.052 --> 00:03:35.800 (moving metal) 61 00:03:35.800 --> 00:03:37.410 - [Ev Durán] The Rauschers are here today 62 00:03:37.410 --> 00:03:39.670 hoping to find Savannah's wedding ring, 63 00:03:39.670 --> 00:03:42.860 buried somewhere in the twisted metal and mucky ash 64 00:03:42.860 --> 00:03:44.583 that was once their family home. 65 00:03:45.790 --> 00:03:46.823 - Watch for nails. 66 00:03:50.860 --> 00:03:53.600 - This ceramic thing, is that the toilet? 67 00:03:53.600 --> 00:03:58.513 - Maybe, what was this, do you know? 68 00:03:59.410 --> 00:04:01.389 - No, it's so weird there's so much stuff 69 00:04:01.389 --> 00:04:04.040 but I can't figure out what the hell it is. 70 00:04:04.040 --> 00:04:05.030 - It could be stuff that was 71 00:04:05.030 --> 00:04:07.903 part of the attic's construction, so. 72 00:04:09.060 --> 00:04:10.830 - I was like, oh my gosh, this ring set 73 00:04:10.830 --> 00:04:14.350 is the most beautiful ring set I've ever seen, 74 00:04:14.350 --> 00:04:16.670 I just love it, it was like from the 1930's 75 00:04:16.670 --> 00:04:20.000 and it was like very vintage, it's beautiful. 76 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:22.860 And then Richie went back and the jeweler remembered 77 00:04:22.860 --> 00:04:25.460 that I liked this ring and so Richie was able to 78 00:04:25.460 --> 00:04:27.270 literally the exact ring that I wanted 79 00:04:27.270 --> 00:04:28.883 without me knowing or... 80 00:04:31.320 --> 00:04:33.920 - You guys come and check this out down here. 81 00:04:33.920 --> 00:04:35.662 Check out our new view. 82 00:04:39.423 --> 00:04:40.990 - Is this where the fire came up? 83 00:04:40.990 --> 00:04:42.693 - Yeah, it came up from this way. 84 00:04:44.401 --> 00:04:48.550 - Dad wait, where's Concow, is it like? 85 00:04:48.550 --> 00:04:50.000 - It's way in that direction. 86 00:04:51.150 --> 00:04:51.983 Watch your step. 87 00:04:53.315 --> 00:04:55.183 - What is this? 88 00:04:56.210 --> 00:04:58.560 Oh, this is part of Richie's computer. 89 00:05:01.490 --> 00:05:04.090 It's got like, there's some kind of circuits. 90 00:05:04.090 --> 00:05:07.510 It's been an ongoing, it's very ongoing. 91 00:05:07.510 --> 00:05:09.246 Everyday you hear about somebody moving. 92 00:05:09.246 --> 00:05:12.410 (slow eerie music) 93 00:05:12.410 --> 00:05:13.860 You think of something that you left behind 94 00:05:13.860 --> 00:05:15.333 that was sentimental to you. 95 00:05:17.740 --> 00:05:20.150 Some days you feel so happy and grateful 96 00:05:20.150 --> 00:05:25.150 and then other days you feel like you can't stop crying. 97 00:05:26.850 --> 00:05:28.980 It's like mourning a death. 98 00:05:28.980 --> 00:05:31.360 I have lost someone very close to me in my life 99 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:34.210 and it was very similar to that kind of grief. 100 00:05:35.960 --> 00:05:39.080 It was like very much that level of heartbreak 101 00:05:39.080 --> 00:05:40.403 to lose Paradise. 102 00:05:41.266 --> 00:05:44.766 (slow instrumental music) 103 00:07:04.499 --> 00:07:06.916 (indistinct) 104 00:07:11.293 --> 00:07:12.793 - Claim your space. 105 00:07:16.762 --> 00:07:18.012 - Where's Max? 106 00:07:21.060 --> 00:07:22.410 - It's video, you can move. 107 00:07:24.870 --> 00:07:29.130 - It's Christmas Eve and I'm in Aptos 108 00:07:29.130 --> 00:07:31.147 and we're celebrating Christmas here at a home 109 00:07:31.147 --> 00:07:33.223 we rented, it's near the beach. 110 00:07:34.120 --> 00:07:35.950 We've never done this before. 111 00:07:35.950 --> 00:07:37.367 - Do you wanna film me screaming at my kid 112 00:07:37.367 --> 00:07:39.583 to get him in here for dinner? 113 00:07:39.583 --> 00:07:41.680 It's about to happen. 114 00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:42.723 - Get in here! 115 00:07:43.770 --> 00:07:44.603 - Hi Clayton. 116 00:07:46.215 --> 00:07:47.048 - You should probably get his name right 117 00:07:47.048 --> 00:07:50.590 if you're gonna make a real run at Klay Thompson. 118 00:07:50.590 --> 00:07:52.860 - It's not Thompson. I thought it was Thomas. 119 00:07:52.860 --> 00:07:54.540 - No, it's Thompson. 120 00:07:54.540 --> 00:07:56.400 Clayton Thomas is not a basketball player. 121 00:07:56.400 --> 00:07:58.493 - That is who I was talking to online. 122 00:08:00.440 --> 00:08:01.743 - Klay Thompson, Thompson. 123 00:08:03.023 --> 00:08:04.740 - I don't think we're coordinated. 124 00:08:04.740 --> 00:08:06.490 We shoulda rehearsed. 125 00:08:10.065 --> 00:08:11.690 - Good luck, Ron Howard. 126 00:08:11.690 --> 00:08:14.950 - So our family tradition has been, 127 00:08:14.950 --> 00:08:18.420 at least for the last 27 years that I can count 128 00:08:18.420 --> 00:08:21.750 is that everyone comes to my home for Christmas. 129 00:08:21.750 --> 00:08:23.730 But it was obvious then that we weren't gonna have 130 00:08:23.730 --> 00:08:27.220 Christmas in Paradise, which is hard 131 00:08:27.220 --> 00:08:32.200 because that's sort of just part of the family fabric. 132 00:08:32.200 --> 00:08:34.070 And you know, when you're facing change, you think, 133 00:08:34.070 --> 00:08:36.830 'well, it's never gonna be the same, 134 00:08:36.830 --> 00:08:38.290 that's not the way we do it.' 135 00:08:38.290 --> 00:08:42.000 And it's turned out to really be very lovely. 136 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:44.347 Oh my gosh, it's beautiful. 137 00:08:45.610 --> 00:08:49.500 It's bittersweet because we miss the Paradise Christmas 138 00:08:49.500 --> 00:08:51.730 but this is a beautiful place too 139 00:08:51.730 --> 00:08:54.730 and hopefully in another year or two or three, 140 00:08:54.730 --> 00:08:57.393 we'll be celebrating Christmas in Paradise again. 141 00:08:58.990 --> 00:09:01.230 - [Ev Durán] Despite the historically destructive fire 142 00:09:01.230 --> 00:09:02.780 just six weeks earlier 143 00:09:02.780 --> 00:09:05.520 there was a version of Christmas in Paradise. 144 00:09:05.520 --> 00:09:07.630 The annual ice skating rink was built 145 00:09:07.630 --> 00:09:09.170 and many traveled a great distance 146 00:09:09.170 --> 00:09:11.520 for this small taste of familiarity. 147 00:09:11.520 --> 00:09:13.830 For many of these suddenly homeless people, 148 00:09:13.830 --> 00:09:15.750 this was their first time visiting the town 149 00:09:15.750 --> 00:09:18.780 they love since it was almost completely destroyed. 150 00:09:18.780 --> 00:09:22.163 - Thank you for coming and what a great time to be here, 151 00:09:22.163 --> 00:09:25.790 it's so fun to see people and I don't know, 152 00:09:25.790 --> 00:09:28.616 I don't shake hands much anymore, seems we hug each other 153 00:09:28.616 --> 00:09:30.943 more than anything else, have you noticed that? 154 00:09:30.943 --> 00:09:35.943 - Five, four, three, two, one, woo, 155 00:09:37.188 --> 00:09:40.073 (crowd cheering) 156 00:09:40.073 --> 00:09:41.940 - [Ev Durán] While it may seem like a simple event 157 00:09:41.940 --> 00:09:43.750 from an outside perspective, 158 00:09:43.750 --> 00:09:46.360 even something as inauspicious as a community 159 00:09:46.360 --> 00:09:49.160 Christmas tree lighting feels like a tremendous victory 160 00:09:49.160 --> 00:09:50.640 for these residents. 161 00:09:50.640 --> 00:09:53.680 For the people of Paradise, like the Rauschers 162 00:09:53.680 --> 00:09:56.530 and Susan Davis, chaos and uncertainty 163 00:09:56.530 --> 00:09:59.950 are now the defining characteristics of every single day. 164 00:09:59.950 --> 00:10:01.880 In the span of a few short hours, 165 00:10:01.880 --> 00:10:06.500 on a day seemingly like any other, their homes gone, 166 00:10:06.500 --> 00:10:10.540 their things gone, their jobs gone, 167 00:10:10.540 --> 00:10:13.520 their entire sense of community and history 168 00:10:13.520 --> 00:10:16.860 and even reality itself, gone. 169 00:10:16.860 --> 00:10:18.420 What would you do? 170 00:10:18.420 --> 00:10:19.930 How do you replace Paradise? 171 00:10:19.930 --> 00:10:22.763 (slow calm music) 172 00:10:25.800 --> 00:10:27.610 People are drawn to live in Paradise 173 00:10:27.610 --> 00:10:29.350 for a great many reasons. 174 00:10:29.350 --> 00:10:32.410 For Susan it was an opportunity for her and her husband 175 00:10:32.410 --> 00:10:34.690 to move their young family from the Bay Area 176 00:10:34.690 --> 00:10:37.070 to a smaller, safer community. 177 00:10:37.070 --> 00:10:39.733 A great place to raise kids and someday retire. 178 00:10:41.440 --> 00:10:44.150 In 1991 they did just that. 179 00:10:44.150 --> 00:10:46.510 Her daughter, 11 years old at the time, 180 00:10:46.510 --> 00:10:48.930 wasn't particularly thrilled at the prospect of leaving 181 00:10:48.930 --> 00:10:51.050 all of her friends behind and starting over. 182 00:10:51.050 --> 00:10:54.630 But her son, who had just turned seven, was excited, 183 00:10:54.630 --> 00:10:56.830 like, super excited. 184 00:10:56.830 --> 00:10:58.530 And I can tell you that with confidence 185 00:10:58.530 --> 00:11:01.700 because that handsome little second grader was me. 186 00:11:01.700 --> 00:11:04.640 I'm Susan's son, my name is Ev Durán, 187 00:11:04.640 --> 00:11:06.707 I made this movie, hi. 188 00:11:07.660 --> 00:11:10.830 And it's true, I can always remember loving Paradise. 189 00:11:10.830 --> 00:11:12.300 My earliest memories of the town 190 00:11:12.300 --> 00:11:15.500 are visiting my uncle and aunt and cousins in the eighties 191 00:11:15.500 --> 00:11:19.320 and being completely transfixed by how green everything was, 192 00:11:19.320 --> 00:11:23.740 how many trees there were, how the roads were all so hilly. 193 00:11:23.740 --> 00:11:25.120 I thought driving through Paradise 194 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:27.750 was like being on a roller coaster. 195 00:11:27.750 --> 00:11:30.310 To a little kid from San Jose, Paradise seemed 196 00:11:30.310 --> 00:11:33.200 like a far away magical town in the forest. 197 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:36.440 We first lived in a rental on lower Sawmill until my parents 198 00:11:36.440 --> 00:11:39.840 bought our house on Starlight Court, off of Neal Road. 199 00:11:39.840 --> 00:11:42.771 We lived there for seven years and I loved that place. 200 00:11:42.771 --> 00:11:44.200 - I'll save you! 201 00:11:44.200 --> 00:11:45.960 - I made a lot of really good Kung Fu movies 202 00:11:45.960 --> 00:11:47.513 with my friends in the garage. 203 00:11:48.479 --> 00:11:51.920 When my parents divorced, my mother and I moved into a home 204 00:11:51.920 --> 00:11:53.800 she bought on Sesame Street. 205 00:11:53.800 --> 00:11:55.316 Yes, Sesame Street. 206 00:11:55.316 --> 00:11:56.490 See uh, this here's the kitchen. 207 00:11:56.490 --> 00:11:59.380 It's a small street off of Dean Road on upper Pentz. 208 00:11:59.380 --> 00:12:01.290 It's where my mother has lived since. 209 00:12:01.290 --> 00:12:03.580 I attended Paradise Elementary School, 210 00:12:03.580 --> 00:12:06.380 Paradise Intermediate School and in 2002, 211 00:12:06.380 --> 00:12:08.390 I graduated from Paradise High School. 212 00:12:08.390 --> 00:12:11.960 - Senior pranks, have they gone too far? 213 00:12:11.960 --> 00:12:14.300 - Paradise was a wonderful place to grow up. 214 00:12:14.300 --> 00:12:16.620 I loved weekend visits to All the Best Video, 215 00:12:16.620 --> 00:12:19.180 or summer days spent swimming at local river spots 216 00:12:19.180 --> 00:12:21.470 or being dragged behind a boat at Lake Oroville. 217 00:12:21.470 --> 00:12:24.340 - Oh shit. 218 00:12:24.340 --> 00:12:26.440 - I loved riding my bike with my friends to Hootch Hut 219 00:12:26.440 --> 00:12:29.000 for candies and sodas or hanging out at the Duck Pond 220 00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:32.540 or at the hot trails or at the Safeway parking lot. 221 00:12:32.540 --> 00:12:35.010 I loved going to Paradise High School Football games and 222 00:12:35.010 --> 00:12:39.010 feeling the unmatched energy of an entire town at my back. 223 00:12:39.010 --> 00:12:40.320 I just loved it all. 224 00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:43.050 And although some of my particular affections for the town 225 00:12:43.050 --> 00:12:44.980 might just be specific to me. 226 00:12:44.980 --> 00:12:46.980 The general sentiment of loving Paradise 227 00:12:46.980 --> 00:12:49.710 is almost universal, trust me. 228 00:12:49.710 --> 00:12:52.060 I've talked to a lot of people. 229 00:12:52.060 --> 00:12:54.130 (water flowing) 230 00:12:54.130 --> 00:12:56.750 But for those of you watching who aren't from Paradise, 231 00:12:56.750 --> 00:12:58.900 you probably won't know any of these things. 232 00:12:58.900 --> 00:13:01.110 You might not even know where Paradise is. 233 00:13:01.110 --> 00:13:03.050 - I knew nothing about Paradise, as a matter of fact 234 00:13:03.050 --> 00:13:05.210 I had to look it up on a map. 235 00:13:05.210 --> 00:13:07.800 - We'll get back to him though, he's a good guy. 236 00:13:07.800 --> 00:13:10.300 Here's a little background on the town of Paradise. 237 00:13:10.300 --> 00:13:12.940 Just the basics that you need to know. 238 00:13:12.940 --> 00:13:14.990 To tell you about them I'm gonna turn you over 239 00:13:14.990 --> 00:13:17.420 to Mark Thorp, the Executive Director 240 00:13:17.420 --> 00:13:19.340 of the Golden Nugget Museum, 241 00:13:19.340 --> 00:13:22.250 the town's primary historical archive. 242 00:13:22.250 --> 00:13:25.380 Mark, in true small town Paradise fashion 243 00:13:25.380 --> 00:13:27.223 also happens to be my cousin. 244 00:13:28.260 --> 00:13:31.590 Here he is in 1987, helping me put my shoes on. 245 00:13:31.590 --> 00:13:33.390 And here he is today. 246 00:13:33.390 --> 00:13:34.940 - Paradise being in the foothills 247 00:13:34.940 --> 00:13:39.670 of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, a town of 26, 27,000 people, 248 00:13:39.670 --> 00:13:41.880 which grows at about 3% per year, 249 00:13:41.880 --> 00:13:46.880 cooler by about five degrees from the valley floor. 250 00:13:46.900 --> 00:13:50.860 Close enough to a lot of international activity 251 00:13:50.860 --> 00:13:53.110 associated with the Chico State Campus 252 00:13:53.110 --> 00:13:55.280 a university town of Chico. 253 00:13:55.280 --> 00:13:58.040 But still just 10 miles away where you could come back up 254 00:13:58.040 --> 00:14:00.290 to the community and again seeking out 255 00:14:00.290 --> 00:14:03.460 the quiet, kind of slower paced life. 256 00:14:03.460 --> 00:14:08.460 I love Paradise because it's a beautiful area. 257 00:14:08.470 --> 00:14:12.960 You are close to any river you'd like to go to, 258 00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:15.350 you're close to the mountains, you're close to the valley. 259 00:14:15.350 --> 00:14:16.990 There's a lot of history in this area 260 00:14:16.990 --> 00:14:18.730 and I kind of like researching the history 261 00:14:18.730 --> 00:14:21.773 and being able to go explore these places. 262 00:14:22.640 --> 00:14:24.850 - [Ev Durán] Jason's right, there is a ton of history 263 00:14:24.850 --> 00:14:25.810 in this area. 264 00:14:25.810 --> 00:14:28.030 I'm actually ashamed to admit that I didn't know that much 265 00:14:28.030 --> 00:14:31.090 about it, at least not until I started making this film. 266 00:14:31.090 --> 00:14:34.300 Guys like Donald Criswell helped set me straight. 267 00:14:34.300 --> 00:14:35.740 - I think this was a little known, 268 00:14:35.740 --> 00:14:38.640 little explored area until John Bidwell came here. 269 00:14:38.640 --> 00:14:41.760 He led the first wagon train into California. 270 00:14:41.760 --> 00:14:44.020 Paradise still was the outback. 271 00:14:44.020 --> 00:14:47.760 It was on the way to Butte Meadows and Colby Meadows, 272 00:14:47.760 --> 00:14:51.420 where cattle pastured in the spring and summer months, 273 00:14:51.420 --> 00:14:53.130 then they were brought back down into the valley 274 00:14:53.130 --> 00:14:56.960 in the fall by ranchers like Clark and Neal and Pentz. 275 00:14:56.960 --> 00:15:00.283 Paradise was kind of on the way and then the Gold Rush hit. 276 00:15:01.280 --> 00:15:04.400 - [Ev Durán] In 1859, a 54 pound gold nugget, 277 00:15:04.400 --> 00:15:07.060 the largest ever found, was discovered in the rivers 278 00:15:07.060 --> 00:15:11.750 surrounding Paradise, making the town a popular place. 279 00:15:11.750 --> 00:15:14.390 - There were still mines when I was a kid being worked 280 00:15:14.390 --> 00:15:17.510 in Paradise actually, down off of Bille Road 281 00:15:17.510 --> 00:15:19.157 and, Lucky John mine for example, 282 00:15:19.157 --> 00:15:21.077 (loud explosion) 283 00:15:21.077 --> 00:15:21.910 - Wow. 284 00:15:21.910 --> 00:15:24.453 - But it was such a beautiful place to be. 285 00:15:25.320 --> 00:15:28.280 The climate certainly is like the best in the world 286 00:15:28.280 --> 00:15:29.950 or right up there with it. 287 00:15:29.950 --> 00:15:32.870 And it turns out that you can roll up a newspaper 288 00:15:32.870 --> 00:15:34.900 and stick it in the ground in Paradise and it will grow. 289 00:15:34.900 --> 00:15:38.620 I mean, it's a great fertile agricultural place. 290 00:15:38.620 --> 00:15:41.100 - [Ev Durán] Orchards sprung up all across Paradise 291 00:15:41.100 --> 00:15:43.430 and the area was soon populated by ranchers and farmers 292 00:15:43.430 --> 00:15:47.360 - Among one of those first early ranchers 293 00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:50.730 was this gentleman who came up what's now Neal Road. 294 00:15:50.730 --> 00:15:53.860 I live right off of Neal Road and as they arrived into 295 00:15:53.860 --> 00:15:57.270 town, it gets to be a 100° in Paradise sometimes 296 00:15:57.270 --> 00:16:00.410 he apparently plopped down under a tree and said, 297 00:16:00.410 --> 00:16:01.680 boys this is Paradise. 298 00:16:01.680 --> 00:16:04.540 And that's the version that I believe 299 00:16:04.540 --> 00:16:06.550 is probably most accurate. 300 00:16:06.550 --> 00:16:08.840 The other one was the old mining thing, 301 00:16:08.840 --> 00:16:12.350 the pair o' dice, you know that two dice 302 00:16:12.350 --> 00:16:13.813 that you roll on the table. 303 00:16:15.580 --> 00:16:17.180 Yeah, I don't know. 304 00:16:17.180 --> 00:16:19.060 - [Ev Durán] No matter how the town got its name, 305 00:16:19.060 --> 00:16:21.620 the name stuck, it felt appropriate. 306 00:16:21.620 --> 00:16:24.820 As Paradise evolved into and throughout the 20th century 307 00:16:24.820 --> 00:16:27.210 it became an appealing place to raise a family 308 00:16:27.210 --> 00:16:29.580 for people from all walks of life. 309 00:16:29.580 --> 00:16:32.873 - I'm Dorothy Fallen and this is my husband, Don Fallen. 310 00:16:34.050 --> 00:16:37.640 We moved to Paradise in 1962. 311 00:16:37.640 --> 00:16:41.040 We lived in Chico and we used to go up to Paradise 312 00:16:41.040 --> 00:16:45.050 so we could bowl on their four lane bowling alley on Skyway. 313 00:16:45.050 --> 00:16:47.820 And they had a nice drive-in theater back then 314 00:16:47.820 --> 00:16:50.420 that we really enjoyed so we spent a lot of time 315 00:16:50.420 --> 00:16:51.900 going to Paradise. 316 00:16:51.900 --> 00:16:54.500 And when the kids got old enough for school, 317 00:16:54.500 --> 00:16:57.550 we moved up there and Don, 318 00:16:57.550 --> 00:16:59.340 his parents followed construction. 319 00:16:59.340 --> 00:17:02.920 He didn't want his kids to be moved from school to school. 320 00:17:02.920 --> 00:17:04.630 So he always said, when they start school 321 00:17:04.630 --> 00:17:06.640 we was gonna stay in one place. 322 00:17:06.640 --> 00:17:08.930 So he says we can starve to death in Paradise 323 00:17:08.930 --> 00:17:11.580 as well as anywhere else, that's where we're staying. 324 00:17:13.070 --> 00:17:17.070 When we moved there, there was 9,000 people. 325 00:17:17.070 --> 00:17:19.769 There was... - On the whole Ridge, 326 00:17:19.769 --> 00:17:22.570 there was two four-way stop signs, 327 00:17:22.570 --> 00:17:24.380 one at Pearson and Clark 328 00:17:24.380 --> 00:17:28.396 and one at Elliott and Skyway, wasn't it. 329 00:17:28.396 --> 00:17:31.620 There was no stoplights or anything like that. 330 00:17:31.620 --> 00:17:34.093 And it's changed a lot. 331 00:17:36.710 --> 00:17:39.150 - [Ev Durán] Even as Paradise changed and grew 332 00:17:39.150 --> 00:17:41.190 it never lost that small town spirit 333 00:17:41.190 --> 00:17:43.380 that so many of its residents loved. 334 00:17:43.380 --> 00:17:46.590 - You have groups of families 335 00:17:46.590 --> 00:17:48.510 that have been born and raised here 336 00:17:48.510 --> 00:17:50.360 over generation over generation. 337 00:17:50.360 --> 00:17:54.970 So even though you may not know the person next to you, 338 00:17:54.970 --> 00:17:57.910 your grandparents may be friends with their grandparents, 339 00:17:57.910 --> 00:18:00.810 which automatically connects you. 340 00:18:00.810 --> 00:18:02.640 - From you know a demographic standpoint 341 00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:05.290 I think a lot of people equated it to a retirement 342 00:18:05.290 --> 00:18:07.030 community, I don't know if that's a 343 00:18:07.030 --> 00:18:09.260 fully accurate description. 344 00:18:09.260 --> 00:18:11.660 It was a vibrant town, there were lots of people 345 00:18:11.660 --> 00:18:13.920 there from different generations 346 00:18:13.920 --> 00:18:15.970 and different walks of life, 347 00:18:15.970 --> 00:18:19.440 but all in all, a great small town, 348 00:18:19.440 --> 00:18:22.863 American community filled with some really great people. 349 00:18:23.700 --> 00:18:26.150 - You could go down the road and wave at people 350 00:18:26.150 --> 00:18:28.980 because it was small enough that you'd see lot of say 351 00:18:28.980 --> 00:18:30.560 it five or six cars you'd at least 352 00:18:30.560 --> 00:18:32.037 know one or two of the people. 353 00:18:32.037 --> 00:18:33.000 - You could walk down the road 354 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:35.710 and people would smile and wave to you 355 00:18:35.710 --> 00:18:38.090 instead of looking at you like this 356 00:18:38.090 --> 00:18:40.670 and putting their head down. 357 00:18:40.670 --> 00:18:44.290 - It was beautiful, the trees, it was a forest. 358 00:18:44.290 --> 00:18:48.600 It was a very close knit, small town. 359 00:18:48.600 --> 00:18:51.510 So just the fact that everybody knew everybody, 360 00:18:51.510 --> 00:18:54.483 everybody was friendly, I just fell in love with it. 361 00:18:56.080 --> 00:18:57.670 We would tell people even on trips 362 00:18:57.670 --> 00:18:59.180 or when we lived on the East coast 363 00:18:59.180 --> 00:19:01.970 we would describe it as this really pretty, 364 00:19:01.970 --> 00:19:05.130 super clean, that we'd always say the tap water tastes like 365 00:19:05.130 --> 00:19:08.890 bottled water, there's this really no litter, 366 00:19:08.890 --> 00:19:12.150 just the cleanest air and very nice people, 367 00:19:12.150 --> 00:19:13.580 but a little bit remote. 368 00:19:13.580 --> 00:19:14.740 But I liked how free it felt. 369 00:19:14.740 --> 00:19:17.010 That was the big thing as we would always tell people, 370 00:19:17.010 --> 00:19:19.570 you know, we live on this road and there's horses going by 371 00:19:19.570 --> 00:19:21.060 and we have a bear that knocks our trash can 372 00:19:21.060 --> 00:19:24.020 over every night and people's chickens come in our yard 373 00:19:24.020 --> 00:19:25.137 and things like that. 374 00:19:25.137 --> 00:19:27.860 - But the beauty was in the trees and the hills, 375 00:19:27.860 --> 00:19:32.860 we had the canyon like on one side was the Feather River, 376 00:19:33.060 --> 00:19:35.360 the other side we had Butte Creek Canyon 377 00:19:35.360 --> 00:19:37.160 so that's the reason why we call it the Ridge. 378 00:19:37.160 --> 00:19:40.080 - Beautiful and amazing, wonderful place to grow up. 379 00:19:40.080 --> 00:19:42.890 I always told people that you had a lake below you, 380 00:19:42.890 --> 00:19:46.220 lakes above you, a canyon on both sides with rivers, 381 00:19:46.220 --> 00:19:47.360 like a childhood dream. 382 00:19:47.360 --> 00:19:48.910 You could go hunting up in the mountains 383 00:19:48.910 --> 00:19:51.450 and then Chico was eight miles away so you could get 384 00:19:51.450 --> 00:19:53.450 some city life if you wanted. 385 00:19:53.450 --> 00:19:55.958 - And it was a place where your kids, 386 00:19:55.958 --> 00:19:58.970 they'd get up in the morning, they'd get on their bicycles 387 00:19:58.970 --> 00:20:02.610 they'd run down to Kunkle Lake, fish all day, you know, 388 00:20:02.610 --> 00:20:04.450 run around town, come home. 389 00:20:04.450 --> 00:20:07.920 You didn't worry about anything happening to them, you know, 390 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:10.163 you knew they'd be home in time for dinner. 391 00:20:15.310 --> 00:20:18.490 - [Ev Durán] What were some things, pre-fire obviously, 392 00:20:18.490 --> 00:20:22.400 either landmarks or businesses or just like Paradise things 393 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:23.770 that you guys really liked? 394 00:20:23.770 --> 00:20:28.770 - Oh wow, well right off the bat, Juice & Java, yeah. 395 00:20:29.893 --> 00:20:31.140 - Juice & Java. 396 00:20:31.140 --> 00:20:32.570 - Of course Juice & Java. 397 00:20:32.570 --> 00:20:37.570 - I went to that coffee shop for literally, gosh 20 years. 398 00:20:38.460 --> 00:20:40.530 - We grew up going to Juice & Java, 399 00:20:40.530 --> 00:20:41.997 going to Juice & Java in high school, 400 00:20:41.997 --> 00:20:42.830 skipping class to go to Juice & Java. 401 00:20:42.830 --> 00:20:44.240 - And now were able to take our daughter there 402 00:20:44.240 --> 00:20:45.323 to get a smoothie. 403 00:20:48.380 --> 00:20:50.070 - [Ev Durán] For many people in Paradise 404 00:20:50.070 --> 00:20:53.660 Juice & Java was an institution. Delicious coffee, 405 00:20:53.660 --> 00:20:57.000 tons of seating, stellar personalized service... 406 00:20:57.000 --> 00:21:00.530 J & J was a favorite of Paradisians of all ages. 407 00:21:00.530 --> 00:21:02.443 The owner is a man named Geoffrey Greitzer 408 00:21:02.443 --> 00:21:05.090 and I've known him for what feels like forever. 409 00:21:05.090 --> 00:21:07.050 My older sister used to work at Juice & Java 410 00:21:07.050 --> 00:21:09.350 when I was a kid and Geoffrey would sometimes come 411 00:21:09.350 --> 00:21:11.130 to our family birthday parties. 412 00:21:11.130 --> 00:21:14.550 Here's a picture of he and I at my mom's 40th in 1997. 413 00:21:14.550 --> 00:21:16.720 I'm dressed as a clown for some reason...? 414 00:21:16.720 --> 00:21:19.920 When I got older, I worked at Juice & Java for five years. 415 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:22.810 It's probably my most favorite job I've ever had. 416 00:21:22.810 --> 00:21:24.443 Geoffrey is a character through and through 417 00:21:24.443 --> 00:21:26.320 and never boring. 418 00:21:26.320 --> 00:21:29.480 I'll let one of my former co-workers explain a bit further. 419 00:21:29.480 --> 00:21:31.270 - Oh Geoffrey. 420 00:21:31.270 --> 00:21:34.050 You know, when I sat down for my interview, 421 00:21:34.050 --> 00:21:36.150 which was on the spot, I was not expecting it. 422 00:21:36.150 --> 00:21:38.860 But I walked in and he sat me down and interviewed me, 423 00:21:38.860 --> 00:21:41.490 I was not prepared for it all, my now mother-in-law 424 00:21:41.490 --> 00:21:43.330 was in the car waiting for me and so I'm like, 425 00:21:43.330 --> 00:21:46.640 can I go tell my ride that I'm going in for an interview? 426 00:21:46.640 --> 00:21:48.580 But during the interview one thing that always stuck with me 427 00:21:48.580 --> 00:21:50.660 is he looks at me and he says, "I'm a Gemini, 428 00:21:50.660 --> 00:21:52.783 and I'm a childish asshole." 429 00:21:54.185 --> 00:21:56.685 And I was like, who says that during an interview? 430 00:21:57.800 --> 00:22:02.800 And he definitely could be, which I'm okay saying, 431 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:06.177 he said it himself, so I'm just not arguing with him. 432 00:22:07.250 --> 00:22:10.240 But he also, Geoffrey has a huge heart. 433 00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:11.420 - [Ev Durán] And I can vouch for that. 434 00:22:11.420 --> 00:22:13.210 Geoffrey once reached into the cash register 435 00:22:13.210 --> 00:22:16.193 and just gave me $900 to buy a truck, like out of the blue. 436 00:22:17.100 --> 00:22:18.260 - I think when you can work anywhere 437 00:22:18.260 --> 00:22:20.110 and you kind of feel like it's a family, 438 00:22:20.110 --> 00:22:21.830 that's not something that everybody gets. 439 00:22:21.830 --> 00:22:24.580 And for Geoffrey, I think that, that was really big for him 440 00:22:24.580 --> 00:22:27.063 is to be able to support each other. 441 00:22:28.340 --> 00:22:32.993 - Hello, I'm Geoffrey Greitzer, owner of Juice & Java. 442 00:22:34.150 --> 00:22:37.670 I've been here 23 years, I've been in Paradise 24 443 00:22:37.670 --> 00:22:40.840 and built this restaurant 23 years ago 444 00:22:40.840 --> 00:22:44.310 and this is what it looks like now. 445 00:22:44.310 --> 00:22:49.300 It's, lost everything, we lost two businesses 446 00:22:49.300 --> 00:22:53.720 with this building and our house 447 00:22:53.720 --> 00:22:56.680 and a lot of great memories. 448 00:22:56.680 --> 00:23:00.060 When this fire came down I heard a lot of comments 449 00:23:00.060 --> 00:23:04.500 from ex-employees and how much they miss this place 450 00:23:04.500 --> 00:23:08.341 and how much it meant to them. 451 00:23:08.341 --> 00:23:10.210 'Cause it was a pretty tight group. 452 00:23:10.210 --> 00:23:13.640 It wasn't just, hey, I'm going to work, 453 00:23:13.640 --> 00:23:15.850 the boss is an asshole, blah, blah, blah. 454 00:23:15.850 --> 00:23:17.720 You know what I'm saying? I'm sure there was plenty of that 455 00:23:17.720 --> 00:23:21.303 but there was, God the memories, the different, 456 00:23:22.930 --> 00:23:26.030 some of the things... going bowling together, 457 00:23:26.030 --> 00:23:27.890 getting a limo with all the employees 458 00:23:27.890 --> 00:23:29.440 and going out for Christmas dinner 459 00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:33.610 and employees projectile vomiting at nice restaurants 460 00:23:33.610 --> 00:23:35.830 and things like that, oh yeah. 461 00:23:35.830 --> 00:23:39.740 I wanted to create like a "Cheers" type of atmosphere 462 00:23:39.740 --> 00:23:41.300 where people would know everybody. 463 00:23:41.300 --> 00:23:43.700 And that definitely came to fruition. 464 00:23:43.700 --> 00:23:48.350 I mean, it's great to feel that close to the community 465 00:23:48.350 --> 00:23:53.350 and it's quite an honor to have that opportunity. 466 00:23:58.660 --> 00:23:59.990 - [Ev Durán] If it's not obvious from the look 467 00:23:59.990 --> 00:24:02.310 on Geoffrey's face, Juice & Java shared 468 00:24:02.310 --> 00:24:04.870 a special connection with the town of Paradise. 469 00:24:04.870 --> 00:24:07.950 Many customers would visit every single day of the week. 470 00:24:07.950 --> 00:24:11.330 And then when Friday rolled around and the sun began to set, 471 00:24:11.330 --> 00:24:13.050 there was something else very important 472 00:24:13.050 --> 00:24:14.509 to the people of Paradise. 473 00:24:14.509 --> 00:24:17.425 - Well, it's a football crazy town obviously. 474 00:24:19.600 --> 00:24:21.293 It's interesting with football because, 475 00:24:21.293 --> 00:24:23.850 when I first got up there in the mid nineties, 476 00:24:23.850 --> 00:24:26.670 they were not good, but people still came to games 477 00:24:26.670 --> 00:24:28.550 - Go Bobcats! 478 00:24:28.550 --> 00:24:31.710 - And then Rick came along and they started to win. 479 00:24:31.710 --> 00:24:33.460 - I don't know the win/loss record 480 00:24:33.460 --> 00:24:36.840 but we've been, in 20 years, we've been in the section 481 00:24:36.840 --> 00:24:41.230 championship 12 times, we've won it six times, 482 00:24:41.230 --> 00:24:45.070 we've been in the playoffs 18 years out of the 20 483 00:24:45.070 --> 00:24:47.928 and we've won 10 league championships. 484 00:24:47.928 --> 00:24:49.163 - And then it became something 485 00:24:49.163 --> 00:24:50.560 you had to be a part of the football team. 486 00:24:50.560 --> 00:24:52.640 It wasn't quite Texas football, 487 00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:55.413 but there was a happening, right. 488 00:24:57.552 --> 00:25:00.710 - Football was really, at least for my boy, 489 00:25:00.710 --> 00:25:02.520 it was the reason he went to school. 490 00:25:02.520 --> 00:25:05.950 It was the reason he got grades that were good enough 491 00:25:05.950 --> 00:25:07.210 to stay on the football team. 492 00:25:07.210 --> 00:25:09.290 It was really important to him. 493 00:25:09.290 --> 00:25:11.930 - This whole town seems like they're so involved. 494 00:25:11.930 --> 00:25:14.620 It's almost like a movie that you would see that, 495 00:25:14.620 --> 00:25:16.440 it's Friday night, "Friday Night Lights," 496 00:25:16.440 --> 00:25:18.130 the whole town comes out. 497 00:25:18.130 --> 00:25:21.050 - Those four seconds that we get in between whistles, 498 00:25:21.050 --> 00:25:22.780 we were gonna get after people. 499 00:25:22.780 --> 00:25:25.300 And we created a reputation that, 500 00:25:25.300 --> 00:25:28.830 I mean, you heard all kinds of rumors 501 00:25:28.830 --> 00:25:31.740 and oh, they're doing this up there, they're doing that, 502 00:25:31.740 --> 00:25:34.650 no, we had a passion for the game. 503 00:25:34.650 --> 00:25:37.570 - Whenever I thought of Paradise and now especially, 504 00:25:37.570 --> 00:25:40.070 I think it's a football town, that's how I describe it. 505 00:25:40.070 --> 00:25:44.164 Football is really important and it's important to me, 506 00:25:44.164 --> 00:25:47.313 and it's important to the community, and to our high school. 507 00:25:48.190 --> 00:25:51.490 - The culture was so great, what Coach Prinz built there 508 00:25:51.490 --> 00:25:54.780 and it continues, to be able to sustain that 509 00:25:54.780 --> 00:25:59.430 for that many years and have kids continually 510 00:25:59.430 --> 00:26:01.100 coming through the program and bought in, 511 00:26:01.100 --> 00:26:03.003 is something that's really special. 512 00:26:04.490 --> 00:26:06.520 - [Ev Durán] So that's Paradise in a nutshell. 513 00:26:06.520 --> 00:26:08.420 A pretty wonderful place to grow up. 514 00:26:08.420 --> 00:26:10.170 Not perfect by any stretch, 515 00:26:10.170 --> 00:26:12.100 like every town we had our problems, 516 00:26:12.100 --> 00:26:15.160 but by and large, it was just a good place. 517 00:26:15.160 --> 00:26:18.280 A tight knit town with a strong sense of community. 518 00:26:18.280 --> 00:26:21.150 The kind of small town where high school football was King 519 00:26:21.150 --> 00:26:23.260 or a local coffee shop could feel like 520 00:26:23.260 --> 00:26:25.230 the center of the universe. 521 00:26:25.230 --> 00:26:27.570 It was our own personal hideaway in the woods. 522 00:26:27.570 --> 00:26:30.270 And I'd wager to say that most of the residents of Paradise 523 00:26:30.270 --> 00:26:34.010 felt connected to one another, a part of a larger whole. 524 00:26:34.010 --> 00:26:35.300 It was beautiful. 525 00:26:35.300 --> 00:26:36.590 It was safe. 526 00:26:36.590 --> 00:26:38.200 It was home. 527 00:26:38.200 --> 00:26:41.940 There was only one real omnipresent threat to Paradise, 528 00:26:41.940 --> 00:26:44.593 but you know that, that's why we're here. 529 00:26:45.900 --> 00:26:48.395 - Oh, we always knew there was gonna be a big one. 530 00:26:48.395 --> 00:26:51.812 (slow suspenseful music) 531 00:26:59.440 --> 00:27:01.550 - During my tenure in Paradise, 532 00:27:01.550 --> 00:27:06.060 I've probably had to evacuate at least four times 533 00:27:06.060 --> 00:27:07.213 that I'm sure of. 534 00:27:08.310 --> 00:27:12.500 - We knew we lived in a fire-prone area. 535 00:27:12.500 --> 00:27:14.750 I don't think the fear consumed us, 536 00:27:14.750 --> 00:27:17.060 but we were always aware of it, 537 00:27:17.060 --> 00:27:19.260 there were always fires nearby. 538 00:27:19.260 --> 00:27:21.800 - In my experience there was always fires around. 539 00:27:21.800 --> 00:27:23.080 Nothing ever got close. 540 00:27:23.080 --> 00:27:25.550 I kinda thought of Paradise to be like a safe haven 541 00:27:25.550 --> 00:27:27.080 from all natural disasters. 542 00:27:27.080 --> 00:27:28.560 That's truly how I looked at it. 543 00:27:28.560 --> 00:27:30.590 Like no earthquakes, no floods, 544 00:27:30.590 --> 00:27:32.483 no fire is gonna burn the whole town. 545 00:27:33.730 --> 00:27:38.500 - When you have what's called the wildland urban interface, 546 00:27:38.500 --> 00:27:41.630 which is basically building your homes in the forest, 547 00:27:41.630 --> 00:27:42.973 there is a lot of risk. 548 00:27:44.160 --> 00:27:48.210 We know the situation that we're in here is always been 549 00:27:48.210 --> 00:27:51.260 a potential major wildland fire. 550 00:27:51.260 --> 00:27:54.287 I always said, and many people would quote me as saying, 551 00:27:54.287 --> 00:27:55.400 "Oh, chief, he always says, 552 00:27:55.400 --> 00:27:56.993 it's not a matter of if, it's when." 553 00:27:56.993 --> 00:27:58.570 - It's not if, but when. 554 00:27:58.570 --> 00:27:59.910 - It wasn't if, it was when. 555 00:27:59.910 --> 00:28:02.940 We all knew that it was imminent, there had been threats. 556 00:28:02.940 --> 00:28:07.530 And if you look at it over an overlay, 557 00:28:07.530 --> 00:28:10.000 over the last 150 years, you'll notice that 558 00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:12.050 there have been several fires that have encroached upon 559 00:28:12.050 --> 00:28:15.970 the plateau, which we are, between large canyons 560 00:28:15.970 --> 00:28:18.030 that generate large winds. 561 00:28:18.030 --> 00:28:21.070 - I frankly think I was a little too blasé about it. 562 00:28:21.070 --> 00:28:22.840 Like, oh, it's not going to happen to us, 563 00:28:22.840 --> 00:28:25.511 despite having been here in 2008. 564 00:28:25.511 --> 00:28:29.530 (slow suspenseful music continues) 565 00:28:29.530 --> 00:28:32.050 - [Ev Durán] In 2008, the Humboldt Fire, 566 00:28:32.050 --> 00:28:33.640 started by an arsonist, 567 00:28:33.640 --> 00:28:36.220 wreaked tremendous havoc on Paradise. 568 00:28:36.220 --> 00:28:40.510 That fire destroyed 87 homes, 167 outbuildings 569 00:28:40.510 --> 00:28:42.660 and over 100 vehicles. 570 00:28:42.660 --> 00:28:45.100 For those of us who lived in Paradise at the time, 571 00:28:45.100 --> 00:28:47.330 it was a truly frightening event. 572 00:28:47.330 --> 00:28:50.870 When it was over, I can remember thinking, 'Man, I hope 573 00:28:50.870 --> 00:28:53.370 that was the big one they've always talked about.' 574 00:28:53.370 --> 00:28:56.090 - We were evacuated in 2008. 575 00:28:56.090 --> 00:28:58.620 We were evacuated for about a week, 576 00:28:58.620 --> 00:29:01.170 and I think everyone's awareness of fire 577 00:29:01.170 --> 00:29:03.640 was really heightened that season. 578 00:29:03.640 --> 00:29:08.430 - 2008 was a lot of ways a, I called it a close call. 579 00:29:08.430 --> 00:29:10.350 Even though I'm sure the people who, 580 00:29:10.350 --> 00:29:13.860 the 74 people who lost their homes in lower Paradise area, 581 00:29:13.860 --> 00:29:15.710 don't feel like it was a close call. 582 00:29:15.710 --> 00:29:18.200 From the standpoint of what the potential was, 583 00:29:18.200 --> 00:29:19.653 it was a close call. 584 00:29:22.530 --> 00:29:27.530 - The impact of that fire was maybe an eyeopener 585 00:29:28.500 --> 00:29:30.760 for a lot of people. 586 00:29:30.760 --> 00:29:33.450 - That I think was my first real experience with, 587 00:29:33.450 --> 00:29:34.820 Oh my gosh! 588 00:29:34.820 --> 00:29:36.700 We live on a mountain and we're kind of stuck here 589 00:29:36.700 --> 00:29:40.630 type of thing, where I had not necessarily a fear, 590 00:29:40.630 --> 00:29:44.065 but an enlightening moment, I suppose. 591 00:29:44.065 --> 00:29:47.160 - 2008 was very scary. 592 00:29:47.160 --> 00:29:49.780 And that's a time that many, many people 593 00:29:49.780 --> 00:29:52.720 evacuated, including us. 594 00:29:52.720 --> 00:29:56.260 In that particular instance, I think we were away from home 595 00:29:56.260 --> 00:30:01.260 for several nights before the fire was eventually contained. 596 00:30:03.193 --> 00:30:08.140 - In 2008, and I mean every square inch of this ranch, 597 00:30:08.140 --> 00:30:12.310 and the 27,000 acres around it, burned... 598 00:30:12.310 --> 00:30:15.113 if it wasn't rock or metal, it was ash. 599 00:30:16.240 --> 00:30:18.863 10 years later, this place burned again. 600 00:30:20.710 --> 00:30:24.010 - Normal day, about 6:30 in the morning, 601 00:30:24.010 --> 00:30:29.003 I went out the front door and there was a plume of smoke, 602 00:30:30.150 --> 00:30:32.890 coming in that corner over there. 603 00:30:32.890 --> 00:30:37.890 And being here in Paradise, you're used to having fires. 604 00:30:40.010 --> 00:30:42.230 And so that was a fire, 605 00:30:42.230 --> 00:30:43.890 but didn't look like it was that ominous, 606 00:30:43.890 --> 00:30:47.403 like the entire town was gonna be wiped off the map. 607 00:30:48.820 --> 00:30:51.920 - So I was up probably by about quarter to seven, 608 00:30:51.920 --> 00:30:54.590 I'd made coffee, sitting in my favorite chair, 609 00:30:54.590 --> 00:30:57.190 and sipping my coffee, and just sort of looking back 610 00:30:57.190 --> 00:30:58.960 over my shoulder, out through the windows, 611 00:30:58.960 --> 00:31:02.773 toward the backyard and seeing it was so smoky. 612 00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:05.130 - It started out as a normal day. 613 00:31:05.130 --> 00:31:07.920 I have two morning classes, the first one starts at 5:00 am. 614 00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:11.710 So got here, opened up the gym, do our workout, 615 00:31:11.710 --> 00:31:15.204 6:00am another class comes in, by the time they're done, 616 00:31:15.204 --> 00:31:19.830 I walk them out 'cause it's about 7:15, nice sunny day, 617 00:31:19.830 --> 00:31:22.490 and we see a big cloud of smoke over there. 618 00:31:22.490 --> 00:31:23.790 Because we're kind of immune to it, we're like, 619 00:31:23.790 --> 00:31:25.060 oh, wonder where the fire's at? 620 00:31:25.060 --> 00:31:26.160 But that was about it. 621 00:31:27.583 --> 00:31:31.910 - About 7:30, we heard there was a fire 622 00:31:31.910 --> 00:31:36.290 in the canyon, but didn't even think twice about that, 623 00:31:36.290 --> 00:31:38.440 'cause there's always a fire in the canyon. 624 00:31:40.110 --> 00:31:42.340 I'd gotten a text message about 7:30 625 00:31:42.340 --> 00:31:45.390 from the Town Manager, something they'd passed on 626 00:31:45.390 --> 00:31:48.730 from CalFire, that there was a fire at Pulga. 627 00:31:48.730 --> 00:31:51.900 They were watching it and they were hitting it 628 00:31:51.900 --> 00:31:53.153 with everything they had. 629 00:31:54.550 --> 00:31:57.420 - I was listening to KCHO as I do every morning, 630 00:31:57.420 --> 00:31:59.260 and they said, there's a fire in Pulga, 631 00:31:59.260 --> 00:32:01.610 which wasn't particularly alarming because 632 00:32:01.610 --> 00:32:04.120 that's so far away. 633 00:32:04.120 --> 00:32:05.950 - The perspective was basically, 634 00:32:05.950 --> 00:32:07.720 we're gonna just gonna do this again. 635 00:32:07.720 --> 00:32:10.930 And then in fact, yeah, there are warnings 636 00:32:10.930 --> 00:32:13.100 that are coming out, there are people, neighbors 637 00:32:13.100 --> 00:32:17.630 coming by expressing concern, the fire's over in Pulga, 638 00:32:17.630 --> 00:32:20.210 that's a distance away, we've seen this before 639 00:32:20.210 --> 00:32:23.063 in different locations and treated it just like that. 640 00:32:24.050 --> 00:32:24.927 - My son said, 641 00:32:24.927 --> 00:32:26.600 "Mommy, I thought it was supposed to be sunny today." 642 00:32:26.600 --> 00:32:27.810 And I said, "It is." 643 00:32:27.810 --> 00:32:29.120 He said "But the sun's a weird color." 644 00:32:29.120 --> 00:32:30.420 And I walked out and I said, 645 00:32:30.420 --> 00:32:32.077 "I wonder if there's a fire," and I smelled the air, 646 00:32:32.077 --> 00:32:34.270 and it was a little smoky. 647 00:32:34.270 --> 00:32:37.400 And we get so many fires in Northern California 648 00:32:37.400 --> 00:32:40.870 that I really wasn't that worried about it. 649 00:32:40.870 --> 00:32:43.090 Fires all the way up in Shasta will sometimes make 650 00:32:43.090 --> 00:32:45.210 the sun hazy or whatever. 651 00:32:45.210 --> 00:32:46.610 - It seemed pretty relaxed. 652 00:32:46.610 --> 00:32:48.670 I was a little scared that there's a bunch of smoke, 653 00:32:48.670 --> 00:32:52.680 but nothing like out of the normal, 654 00:32:52.680 --> 00:32:56.203 I didn't feel scared in any way. 655 00:32:57.380 --> 00:32:58.887 - Me and my girlfriend woke up that morning 656 00:32:58.887 --> 00:33:00.750 and we went outside and just heard 657 00:33:00.750 --> 00:33:03.770 the wind going through the canyon like a freight train. 658 00:33:03.770 --> 00:33:07.160 I turned to her and said, "This isn't good, this scares me." 659 00:33:07.160 --> 00:33:10.360 - I was at home when I first learned of a fire, 660 00:33:10.360 --> 00:33:12.800 wildfire up in the Pulga area. 661 00:33:12.800 --> 00:33:15.300 And initially it didn't cause me a lot of concern 662 00:33:15.300 --> 00:33:17.970 because that's a fairly remote part of the county, 663 00:33:17.970 --> 00:33:19.943 it's not heavily populated. 664 00:33:20.780 --> 00:33:23.120 But I did think to myself, I can't believe 665 00:33:23.120 --> 00:33:25.323 it's November and we're having a wildfire. 666 00:33:26.681 --> 00:33:29.848 (fire sparks crackle) 667 00:33:32.360 --> 00:33:35.110 - The dynamics of this fire are really unique. 668 00:33:35.110 --> 00:33:39.200 Picture this: a fire is burning to the east of Paradise. 669 00:33:39.200 --> 00:33:42.510 It's burning in an area that has a significant fire history, 670 00:33:42.510 --> 00:33:45.000 the Concow area, Yankee Hill/Concow area. 671 00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:48.160 This fire had occurred from the same location and burned 672 00:33:48.160 --> 00:33:51.740 in one night, it burned five miles back in 2008, 673 00:33:51.740 --> 00:33:53.430 to the edge of Paradise, 674 00:33:53.430 --> 00:33:55.670 there's a history of fire moving quickly. 675 00:33:55.670 --> 00:33:59.220 Part of the dilemma of this fire was the fact that 676 00:33:59.220 --> 00:34:01.940 most of those fuels had burned 10 years ago 677 00:34:01.940 --> 00:34:05.110 and were in a 10 year, sort of ripe condition 678 00:34:05.110 --> 00:34:07.550 because when a forest goes away, 679 00:34:07.550 --> 00:34:09.780 it's replaced by lighter fuels. 680 00:34:09.780 --> 00:34:11.710 So the regrowth that occurred over the last 10 years, 681 00:34:11.710 --> 00:34:13.850 created a lot of fuel load. 682 00:34:13.850 --> 00:34:16.930 So now this fuel load's on fire and what happens 683 00:34:16.930 --> 00:34:20.240 with the fuel load, is that it was very dry, 684 00:34:20.240 --> 00:34:23.520 record setting levels for the month of November, 685 00:34:23.520 --> 00:34:26.080 ready to burn, under a heavy wind condition, 686 00:34:26.080 --> 00:34:28.960 not just the Jarbo Gap wind which we locals know, 687 00:34:28.960 --> 00:34:31.040 is a nightly occurrence in the summer, 688 00:34:31.040 --> 00:34:33.290 but also a huge gradient wind 689 00:34:33.290 --> 00:34:34.950 that was from a high pressure 690 00:34:34.950 --> 00:34:37.870 to low pressure, that created a much higher stack 691 00:34:37.870 --> 00:34:40.000 of wind. That comes into play 692 00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:43.750 in that, when the fire developed in this really dry fuel, 693 00:34:43.750 --> 00:34:46.010 it sends up a column. 694 00:34:46.010 --> 00:34:49.290 In this case it went up with all that energy 695 00:34:49.290 --> 00:34:50.580 and it hit somewhere around, 696 00:34:50.580 --> 00:34:52.570 I'm gonna say about the 5,000 foot level. 697 00:34:52.570 --> 00:34:55.860 It hit shearing winds that were probably exceeded 698 00:34:55.860 --> 00:34:57.260 a 100 miles an hour. 699 00:34:57.260 --> 00:35:00.340 Not the surface winds that were being measured at 42 to 45 700 00:35:00.340 --> 00:35:02.880 on Jarbo Gap, but over a 100 mile an hour winds. 701 00:35:02.880 --> 00:35:07.623 So this superheated air full of debris is sheared off 702 00:35:09.000 --> 00:35:12.060 and launches thousands of embers 703 00:35:12.960 --> 00:35:15.420 in a blowtorch that keeps them hot. 704 00:35:15.420 --> 00:35:18.200 Because typically what happens with embers is that, 705 00:35:18.200 --> 00:35:20.080 you'll get some ember fallout 706 00:35:20.080 --> 00:35:22.980 and that ember fallout will ignite fires. 707 00:35:22.980 --> 00:35:25.893 But as the air rises like a thunderstorm, 708 00:35:26.730 --> 00:35:28.940 the fuels have an opportunity to cool. 709 00:35:28.940 --> 00:35:30.770 And as they come back down, not near, 710 00:35:30.770 --> 00:35:34.480 as many of them are, are hot embers. 711 00:35:34.480 --> 00:35:37.300 Well, in this case, they were in the middle of a blowtorch 712 00:35:37.300 --> 00:35:41.240 being launched by these above surface winds, 713 00:35:41.240 --> 00:35:43.343 right at the town of Paradise. 714 00:35:45.823 --> 00:35:48.406 (siren sounds) 715 00:35:54.430 --> 00:35:57.560 We also knew because we have an elaborate evacuation plan, 716 00:35:57.560 --> 00:35:59.140 had and still have, 717 00:35:59.140 --> 00:36:01.770 that we had potential problems getting people out 718 00:36:01.770 --> 00:36:03.890 because of the sheer number of people versus 719 00:36:03.890 --> 00:36:06.110 the number of road options that we had. 720 00:36:06.110 --> 00:36:09.440 - Concow, Magalia, and Paradise, 721 00:36:09.440 --> 00:36:12.440 you're talking about maybe 60,000 people, 722 00:36:12.440 --> 00:36:14.140 that's a lot of people to get out. 723 00:36:14.140 --> 00:36:18.850 And Paradise isn't really built for a mass evacuation 724 00:36:18.850 --> 00:36:19.920 at the very same time, 725 00:36:19.920 --> 00:36:21.680 which is why they developed their plan. 726 00:36:21.680 --> 00:36:24.380 This is why they did that 'cause they learned in 2008. 727 00:36:25.320 --> 00:36:28.020 If you gotta get everybody out, it's gonna be a mess. 728 00:36:28.020 --> 00:36:30.163 And it was. 729 00:36:32.330 --> 00:36:35.030 - There were a couple of young men, 730 00:36:35.030 --> 00:36:36.910 running through the nearby property 731 00:36:36.910 --> 00:36:41.293 and they were yelling, "Fire! Fire! Get out!" 732 00:36:43.570 --> 00:36:45.650 So I yelled back, "How close is it?" 733 00:36:45.650 --> 00:36:47.623 And they said, "We can see the flames." 734 00:36:49.610 --> 00:36:52.340 - You started to see cars kind of backing up on Skyway 735 00:36:52.340 --> 00:36:54.770 or whatever and I was getting annoyed. 736 00:36:54.770 --> 00:36:55.950 I'm like, what's going on? 737 00:36:55.950 --> 00:36:58.010 Why are we already backed up on this road? 738 00:36:58.010 --> 00:37:01.220 So I had to go up on the sidewalk to drive, 739 00:37:01.220 --> 00:37:04.253 to get to my house, which is like five minutes from here. 740 00:37:05.400 --> 00:37:08.150 - My daughter Brielle was born the morning before 741 00:37:08.150 --> 00:37:11.800 on the seventh at 8:18, November 7th. 742 00:37:11.800 --> 00:37:15.080 We were in the hospital & because I had to have a C-section, 743 00:37:15.080 --> 00:37:17.200 I was hooked up to an IV, I was hooked up to a catheter, 744 00:37:17.200 --> 00:37:20.693 I had only gotten out of bed once in the previous 24 hours. 745 00:37:22.000 --> 00:37:26.290 - Then I heard it was at Ponderosa School at about 8:45. 746 00:37:26.290 --> 00:37:29.237 And I'm like, uh oh, this is different. 747 00:37:30.480 --> 00:37:35.260 - My 24 hour old baby and I were escorted outside, 748 00:37:35.260 --> 00:37:37.420 we were put in the back of a Sheriff's vehicle. 749 00:37:37.420 --> 00:37:40.170 And so I look over and you could just see the flames 750 00:37:40.170 --> 00:37:42.520 coming over the canyon towards the hospital. 751 00:37:43.520 --> 00:37:46.140 - And we could hear, like, the fire, 752 00:37:46.140 --> 00:37:48.230 we could hear people screaming, 753 00:37:48.230 --> 00:37:50.340 we could hear propane tanks exploding. 754 00:37:50.340 --> 00:37:55.340 So I took one last picture of the house from over here, 755 00:37:56.270 --> 00:37:58.670 right before we got in the car, 756 00:37:58.670 --> 00:38:01.600 and, 'cause it dawned on me it would be the last time 757 00:38:07.410 --> 00:38:09.170 that we'd see it. 758 00:38:09.170 --> 00:38:11.480 - So if the fire was coming from the canyon, 759 00:38:11.480 --> 00:38:15.450 it should have moved progressively, well it leapfrogged 760 00:38:15.450 --> 00:38:18.860 and was into town very quickly. 761 00:38:18.860 --> 00:38:22.580 - So I threw some clothes on over my pajamas and got the dog 762 00:38:22.580 --> 00:38:26.570 and I grabbed an afghan of my mom's and I pulled out 763 00:38:26.570 --> 00:38:29.420 and I could see in a distance that there was a police car. 764 00:38:29.420 --> 00:38:30.560 And I thought, I'm gonna go check with him 765 00:38:30.560 --> 00:38:33.590 to see how much time we have, like an hour? 766 00:38:33.590 --> 00:38:38.580 He says, he said, "You have no time." 767 00:38:41.760 --> 00:38:43.083 You have to get out. 768 00:38:45.590 --> 00:38:46.890 - [Man] Holy shit dude. 769 00:38:46.890 --> 00:38:47.967 Just be safe. 770 00:38:47.967 --> 00:38:51.843 - Fly, fly, fly. 771 00:38:53.959 --> 00:38:55.109 - Holy shit, holy shit. 772 00:38:56.719 --> 00:39:00.297 - So it's just a mad panic to get out. 773 00:39:00.297 --> 00:39:03.027 You have flames on your left and your right 774 00:39:03.027 --> 00:39:08.027 and you see houses and trees and you can feel the heat 775 00:39:08.210 --> 00:39:09.920 coming through the car. 776 00:39:09.920 --> 00:39:14.090 - [Woman] It's so hot, it's so hot, keep going! 777 00:39:14.090 --> 00:39:15.570 - It sounds like the whole world 778 00:39:15.570 --> 00:39:16.910 was avalanching toward us. 779 00:39:16.910 --> 00:39:19.350 It was the craziest sound I'd ever heard. 780 00:39:19.350 --> 00:39:20.820 It sounded like Armageddon. 781 00:39:20.820 --> 00:39:23.380 Exactly like I would picture Armageddon. 782 00:39:23.380 --> 00:39:26.090 - It's getting darker and darker to a point where 783 00:39:26.090 --> 00:39:30.970 it's now like black and you see the white ash coming down, 784 00:39:30.970 --> 00:39:33.460 you're hearing more and more that popping. 785 00:39:33.460 --> 00:39:35.650 People are all stuck, people are freaking out. 786 00:39:35.650 --> 00:39:38.940 - [Woman] This is Pentz Road, this is Pentz! 787 00:39:39.780 --> 00:39:42.090 - And I remember specifically one transmission 788 00:39:42.090 --> 00:39:44.590 from a deputy talking about how the road was blocked 789 00:39:44.590 --> 00:39:46.130 and they were being overtaken by fire, 790 00:39:46.130 --> 00:39:47.810 they were gonna have to get out of their vehicles 791 00:39:47.810 --> 00:39:50.453 and find a way to shelter in place. 792 00:39:52.809 --> 00:39:54.640 I honestly believed that, that was the last time 793 00:39:54.640 --> 00:39:56.207 I would ever hear that deputy. 794 00:39:56.207 --> 00:39:59.124 (slow eerie music) 795 00:40:21.738 --> 00:40:23.210 - You know the correct side to go down Skyway, 796 00:40:23.210 --> 00:40:25.973 as you get past Neal then you start your descent. 797 00:40:27.060 --> 00:40:29.110 And you can see the canyon, that's where the canyon starts. 798 00:40:29.110 --> 00:40:31.090 You can see the fire and the flames right... and 799 00:40:31.090 --> 00:40:35.620 people are just, trying to, like cattle going to slaughter. 800 00:40:35.620 --> 00:40:39.690 I'm like, I don't think I want to get into that lane, 801 00:40:39.690 --> 00:40:42.600 so I decided to go around a couple of cars 802 00:40:42.600 --> 00:40:43.650 and go to the opposite way. 803 00:40:43.650 --> 00:40:45.530 'Cause I know there was two lanes coming up 804 00:40:45.530 --> 00:40:47.710 and emergency vehicles could still make it up. 805 00:40:47.710 --> 00:40:50.850 So I scooted around and went that way, 806 00:40:50.850 --> 00:40:53.620 I went, drove around, there was a little building, 807 00:40:53.620 --> 00:40:56.163 maybe 200 yards, everything was clear, 808 00:40:57.013 --> 00:40:58.600 and then everything changed. 809 00:40:58.600 --> 00:41:02.230 Everything got dark, I mean completely black, 810 00:41:02.230 --> 00:41:04.290 darker than night. 811 00:41:04.290 --> 00:41:08.150 And then you see trees on both sides of the road, 812 00:41:08.150 --> 00:41:11.150 just on fire and things flying over the road, 813 00:41:11.150 --> 00:41:12.490 and you're looking everywhere, 814 00:41:12.490 --> 00:41:14.820 and all of a sudden you're just surrounded by fire. 815 00:41:14.820 --> 00:41:17.840 Like, well, wait a minute, I was just, oops, 816 00:41:17.840 --> 00:41:18.940 I made a wrong turn. 817 00:41:18.940 --> 00:41:20.460 That's what it felt like. 818 00:41:20.460 --> 00:41:22.730 And so you had to keep driving, you can't get out. 819 00:41:22.730 --> 00:41:24.893 So I start to drive through the fire 820 00:41:24.893 --> 00:41:27.420 and you're kind of doing this and you're looking 821 00:41:27.420 --> 00:41:29.163 'cause it's like, wow, this is, 822 00:41:30.428 --> 00:41:31.753 the light bulb is starting to come on and 823 00:41:31.753 --> 00:41:34.570 you're going, oh, wait a minute, this is dangerous. 824 00:41:34.570 --> 00:41:36.127 And so I get around this little building 825 00:41:36.127 --> 00:41:39.150 and there's an opening from this side of the canyon 826 00:41:39.150 --> 00:41:42.910 to this side, whoom, there comes a tunnel of fire, 827 00:41:42.910 --> 00:41:45.460 and it engulfs my car. 828 00:41:45.460 --> 00:41:47.720 You can see it on the hood, the windshield, 829 00:41:47.720 --> 00:41:51.250 behind you, I'm in a tunnel of fire, I'm thinking 830 00:41:51.250 --> 00:41:56.250 oh my goodness, crap, I'm dead, I'm gonna die here. 831 00:41:58.690 --> 00:42:01.280 Just keep driving, keep driving and keep driving. 832 00:42:01.280 --> 00:42:02.830 And it's getting hotter. 833 00:42:02.830 --> 00:42:05.060 And then now you're getting pelted by embers 834 00:42:05.060 --> 00:42:07.050 that are the size of bricks. 835 00:42:07.050 --> 00:42:07.972 You could hear it going, 836 00:42:07.972 --> 00:42:08.910 (pounds hand with fist) 837 00:42:08.910 --> 00:42:10.820 and your car is going, slowing down, 838 00:42:10.820 --> 00:42:12.460 and I'm thinking, please my tires 839 00:42:12.460 --> 00:42:13.553 don't pop, don't pop. 840 00:42:15.440 --> 00:42:16.970 And then the other things coming up 841 00:42:16.970 --> 00:42:21.130 were, you're starting to say, well, I hope the smoke 842 00:42:21.130 --> 00:42:22.640 takes me first, before I die, 843 00:42:22.640 --> 00:42:25.660 And I'm thinking, shit I don't wanna get out 844 00:42:25.660 --> 00:42:27.760 and run in this thing. It's gonna hurt. 845 00:42:27.760 --> 00:42:30.110 I don't want to stop and so 846 00:42:30.110 --> 00:42:35.090 and when that fire came and hit my windshield, 847 00:42:35.090 --> 00:42:37.670 your natural reaction is to duck because it's, 848 00:42:37.670 --> 00:42:42.040 so I ducked and as I ducked under, I got this, 849 00:42:42.040 --> 00:42:44.480 like tiger came out of me and all I could think about 850 00:42:44.480 --> 00:42:45.700 was my son and I yelled out, 851 00:42:45.700 --> 00:42:48.260 "Charlie! I'm not gonna die here!" 852 00:42:48.260 --> 00:42:50.300 Sit up, put it in third gear, punched it, 853 00:42:50.300 --> 00:42:53.523 I didn't care what I hit, I had to get out of the fire 854 00:42:53.523 --> 00:42:54.951 'cause it was starting to get hot. 855 00:42:54.951 --> 00:42:58.779 So I just kept going and going and going 856 00:42:58.779 --> 00:43:01.520 and probably another 60, 70 yards 857 00:43:01.520 --> 00:43:04.780 just before the Paradise sign with "all its name implies" 858 00:43:04.780 --> 00:43:07.500 remember that one? I come out just a little bit past it, 859 00:43:07.500 --> 00:43:08.710 actually, not before. 860 00:43:08.710 --> 00:43:13.250 And it's open, it's clear, it's open. 861 00:43:13.250 --> 00:43:15.173 Ah, yeeeeeeah!. 862 00:43:17.620 --> 00:43:20.765 But to come out of that fire and, and to yell 863 00:43:20.765 --> 00:43:23.603 like a banshee is like, oh, I made it. 864 00:43:24.550 --> 00:43:27.880 And for a while there even though it wasn't such a, 865 00:43:27.880 --> 00:43:30.083 it was just less than a minute. 866 00:43:31.664 --> 00:43:34.880 It felt like an eternity because I'm pretty, 867 00:43:34.880 --> 00:43:37.080 pretty sure I was gonna die. 868 00:43:37.080 --> 00:43:38.823 I mean, just almost, just, yeah. 869 00:43:46.630 --> 00:43:49.660 - My mom left to go get my brother and sister-in-law's 870 00:43:49.660 --> 00:43:52.090 dogs and she forgot her phone. 871 00:43:52.090 --> 00:43:55.080 So it was like, I don't know four and a half hours 872 00:43:55.080 --> 00:43:56.750 of just like not knowing where she was 873 00:43:56.750 --> 00:43:59.300 and just hearing that people are dying on Edgewood. 874 00:44:02.860 --> 00:44:05.763 - I wanna say it was like this driveway here, 875 00:44:06.829 --> 00:44:08.550 we were stopped and we had a clear view up it. 876 00:44:08.550 --> 00:44:11.200 And we're just sitting here and waiting for the cars 877 00:44:11.200 --> 00:44:13.580 to one by one merge on to Pearson. 878 00:44:13.580 --> 00:44:16.860 And it was pitch, it was like midnight, it was so dark. 879 00:44:16.860 --> 00:44:19.240 - We finally made it up the road to right in front of the 880 00:44:19.240 --> 00:44:22.617 Lutheran daycare in time to watch that ignite. 881 00:44:25.910 --> 00:44:28.870 And we sat there and watched it burn to the ground 882 00:44:29.850 --> 00:44:34.080 with, the little girl I had just picked up from there 883 00:44:35.490 --> 00:44:38.750 sat there and watched her school burn to the ground. 884 00:44:38.750 --> 00:44:40.800 At that same time while I'm sitting there in traffic 885 00:44:40.800 --> 00:44:42.123 with my two little girls, 886 00:44:43.430 --> 00:44:47.300 I had a, she was a lady probably mid 40's or so 887 00:44:47.300 --> 00:44:50.410 came running down the middle of Pentz Road by my truck, 888 00:44:50.410 --> 00:44:52.420 screaming "There's people on fire back there!" 889 00:44:52.420 --> 00:44:53.930 "There's people on fire back there!" 890 00:44:53.930 --> 00:44:56.080 "Somebody help them, there's people on fire!" 891 00:44:59.060 --> 00:45:01.300 - I was wondering how we were gonna make it out 892 00:45:01.300 --> 00:45:05.320 and how fast the fire would come. 893 00:45:05.320 --> 00:45:07.973 And if our, if we would have to get out on foot. 894 00:45:09.054 --> 00:45:11.426 - [Woman] I'm not dying right here! 895 00:45:11.426 --> 00:45:14.087 (fast dramatic music) 896 00:45:14.087 --> 00:45:16.693 - There was a mobile home park over here 897 00:45:16.693 --> 00:45:20.850 that was fully engulfed and watched that burn 898 00:45:22.930 --> 00:45:27.880 and then we watched this side of the road start also, 899 00:45:27.880 --> 00:45:31.550 and we just kind of watched it creep through these houses 900 00:45:31.550 --> 00:45:34.293 and these yards getting closer and closer and closer. 901 00:45:35.260 --> 00:45:37.030 Meanwhile, we're not able to go anywhere 902 00:45:37.030 --> 00:45:38.880 we're just sitting there in the truck 903 00:45:41.420 --> 00:45:44.120 kind of wondering if we were gonna be able to get out. 904 00:45:46.710 --> 00:45:49.880 - You never want to, as a parent, look at your kids 905 00:45:49.880 --> 00:45:51.670 and go, 'I don't know how to save you right now,' 906 00:45:51.670 --> 00:45:53.133 like I don't... 907 00:45:53.133 --> 00:45:55.550 And all I could think of as the fire was getting closer, 908 00:45:55.550 --> 00:45:58.540 it was getting hotter and the car started overheating. 909 00:45:58.540 --> 00:46:00.280 And I kept thinking like, 910 00:46:00.280 --> 00:46:03.660 I'm gonna watch my kids choke and burn to death in front 911 00:46:03.660 --> 00:46:05.780 of me and I don't know what to do. 912 00:46:05.780 --> 00:46:08.573 Like, I don't know what to do. 913 00:46:16.670 --> 00:46:19.190 - I sat there for, had to be 45 minutes 914 00:46:19.190 --> 00:46:22.110 while the world was burning down around us. 915 00:46:22.110 --> 00:46:23.743 And I had to think to myself, 916 00:46:26.230 --> 00:46:27.990 'Am I really gonna sit here and watch 917 00:46:27.990 --> 00:46:29.433 my girls burn to death?' 918 00:46:31.760 --> 00:46:32.740 And that kind of 919 00:46:35.350 --> 00:46:38.470 got me moving, and I wasn't going to sit there 920 00:46:38.470 --> 00:46:40.540 and I wasn't gonna let that happen. 921 00:46:40.540 --> 00:46:42.630 So I pulled off in to a little side road 922 00:46:42.630 --> 00:46:44.580 where I wasn't going to block anyone in 923 00:46:45.440 --> 00:46:48.310 and I got the girls out of the truck and I just said, 924 00:46:48.310 --> 00:46:50.460 "Come on girls, we're going on a field trip." 925 00:46:51.500 --> 00:46:54.910 And you know, they're scared out of their minds, 926 00:46:54.910 --> 00:46:58.440 but I tried to make it as relaxed and fun as I could 927 00:46:59.420 --> 00:47:01.163 while I'm panicking inside. 928 00:47:02.140 --> 00:47:06.123 And we just walked up the road and kind of ran for a ways. 929 00:47:07.010 --> 00:47:10.290 And we got, finally caught up to where my uncle was 930 00:47:10.290 --> 00:47:13.473 in my grandpa's classic truck and he was, 931 00:47:13.473 --> 00:47:15.127 20 cars ahead of us or so. 932 00:47:15.127 --> 00:47:16.740 And I turned to him and I just said, 933 00:47:16.740 --> 00:47:19.190 "I'm getting my girls outta here, if fire gets any closer, 934 00:47:19.190 --> 00:47:22.260 you get out of here too, I love you." 935 00:47:22.260 --> 00:47:25.730 And we took off, and I had to go up to my dad 936 00:47:25.730 --> 00:47:30.730 who was ahead of all of them and say "Dad, I love you, 937 00:47:31.840 --> 00:47:33.615 I'm getting the girls out here." 938 00:47:33.615 --> 00:47:35.515 He said, "You're doing the right thing." 939 00:47:39.290 --> 00:47:41.297 - And my son just said, "There's the fire." 940 00:47:41.297 --> 00:47:43.410 And we looked, and you could just see, 941 00:47:43.410 --> 00:47:47.340 like over the crest of that hill, it was just bright 942 00:47:47.340 --> 00:47:52.090 and then you'd see like the flames kind of coming up 943 00:47:52.090 --> 00:47:56.463 one by one and then after a moment just full-on flames. 944 00:47:57.450 --> 00:48:01.730 - So we almost had to jump out of the car, but if we did 945 00:48:01.730 --> 00:48:06.730 we'd probably burn up because the fire was right there, 946 00:48:06.750 --> 00:48:10.400 like super close and was moving very fast. 947 00:48:10.400 --> 00:48:12.510 - Richie, started saying, 948 00:48:12.510 --> 00:48:13.900 "Why aren't we using this other lane?" 949 00:48:13.900 --> 00:48:15.240 like, "there's nobody's coming back." 950 00:48:15.240 --> 00:48:16.900 "You're an idiot If you're coming back at this point, 951 00:48:16.900 --> 00:48:19.390 like you got, no one should be coming back to their houses." 952 00:48:19.390 --> 00:48:22.790 And we look over and the fire was gonna catch all the leaves 953 00:48:22.790 --> 00:48:25.150 and branches and bushes on the right next to us 954 00:48:25.150 --> 00:48:27.870 and then the car was gonna catch on fire. 955 00:48:27.870 --> 00:48:30.150 And so Richie said "Fuck this." 956 00:48:30.150 --> 00:48:31.700 "We're not gonna die right here." 957 00:48:32.730 --> 00:48:36.340 "We're not doing this" & he said "It only takes one person." 958 00:48:36.340 --> 00:48:38.770 And he turned out in the lane and just hit the gas. 959 00:48:38.770 --> 00:48:40.570 And he said it was terrifying, because he didn't know 960 00:48:40.570 --> 00:48:42.620 we were on this hill, we couldn't see over the hill. 961 00:48:42.620 --> 00:48:44.930 We didn't know if someone was going to be bombing down 962 00:48:44.930 --> 00:48:46.360 the hill coming back into the neighborhood, 963 00:48:46.360 --> 00:48:49.300 trying to get to their house and luckily there wasn't 964 00:48:49.300 --> 00:48:50.810 and we looked behind us in the rear-view mirror 965 00:48:50.810 --> 00:48:52.900 and just all the people started pouring into 966 00:48:52.900 --> 00:48:54.143 the open lane behind us. 967 00:48:55.501 --> 00:48:58.110 - And when we got up to the top of Edgewood, 968 00:48:58.110 --> 00:49:02.270 the cars up here were just slowly merging on 969 00:49:02.270 --> 00:49:05.160 one at a time, taking their time, waiting for someone 970 00:49:05.160 --> 00:49:06.620 to give them an opening. 971 00:49:06.620 --> 00:49:08.840 And while it's real nice to be polite, 972 00:49:08.840 --> 00:49:12.200 they didn't realize how close the fire was back here. 973 00:49:12.200 --> 00:49:14.780 And so we just cut in and started telling people, 974 00:49:14.780 --> 00:49:17.710 "Make three lanes on Pearson, it's wide enough." 975 00:49:17.710 --> 00:49:19.560 - I started knocking on people's doors and I was like 976 00:49:19.560 --> 00:49:20.640 "You gotta make a third lane." 977 00:49:20.640 --> 00:49:22.293 "You gotta get people out of here." 978 00:49:24.180 --> 00:49:25.360 And they all started squeezing together 979 00:49:25.360 --> 00:49:27.300 and squeezing together and we just kept going up cars 980 00:49:27.300 --> 00:49:29.820 and beating on doors and I would tell people, 981 00:49:29.820 --> 00:49:30.960 roll your window down and I would say, 982 00:49:30.960 --> 00:49:32.230 "We gotta make a third lane," I said 983 00:49:32.230 --> 00:49:33.810 "Edgewood lane is on fire we have to get 984 00:49:33.810 --> 00:49:34.810 people off Edgewood." 985 00:49:35.823 --> 00:49:37.250 - [Ev Durán] What did you think about the way 986 00:49:37.250 --> 00:49:39.520 your parents acted on that day? 987 00:49:39.520 --> 00:49:43.103 - They felt like heroes basically to me and I felt, 988 00:49:44.510 --> 00:49:49.510 I just felt better that we were gonna get more people out. 989 00:49:50.010 --> 00:49:55.010 And yeah, they just felt like heroes and that we've had the 990 00:49:55.020 --> 00:49:58.603 chance at surviving this, which I didn't think before. 991 00:50:00.130 --> 00:50:02.200 - It took us an hour and a half to get from our house 992 00:50:02.200 --> 00:50:05.090 to outside of Paradise which is only about three miles. 993 00:50:05.090 --> 00:50:08.320 And I can't imagine for the people that were in there all 994 00:50:08.320 --> 00:50:13.320 day and you know, the people that never even made it out... 995 00:50:17.640 --> 00:50:22.640 - Well, here's our house, everything around us is on fire. 996 00:50:29.450 --> 00:50:31.353 Oh man this is bad. 997 00:50:34.423 --> 00:50:39.423 Can't really see very well, ah man this is bad. 998 00:50:42.299 --> 00:50:44.583 There goes our house, it's all engulfed now. 999 00:50:56.510 --> 00:51:01.510 Well don't know what to say, just thought I would video this 1000 00:51:02.260 --> 00:51:06.303 in case it's the last time some of you guys see me. 1001 00:51:12.380 --> 00:51:14.860 It's kind of a weird feeling when you honestly think 1002 00:51:14.860 --> 00:51:16.252 you're gonna die. 1003 00:51:16.252 --> 00:51:20.430 Little update I guess, everything's exploded on this house. 1004 00:51:20.430 --> 00:51:24.141 I had only initially taken the video because 1005 00:51:24.141 --> 00:51:26.900 there was one time in particular where I could hear 1006 00:51:26.900 --> 00:51:29.890 the explosions and animals were running into me. 1007 00:51:29.890 --> 00:51:31.740 And I really thought I was gonna die. 1008 00:51:33.460 --> 00:51:36.570 I thought it was a really bad decision to stay up there. 1009 00:51:36.570 --> 00:51:40.290 And I figured if I made the video that Laurie would see it. 1010 00:51:40.290 --> 00:51:43.290 (slow music) 1011 00:51:46.694 --> 00:51:48.480 I don't know, it's kind of silly when I say it, 1012 00:51:48.480 --> 00:51:51.480 but a buddy of mine, Tom, he had dropped off a day or two 1013 00:51:51.480 --> 00:51:53.770 before, this little four by six trailer 1014 00:51:53.770 --> 00:51:55.063 and it was full of sod. 1015 00:51:56.180 --> 00:51:59.570 And when that one time when the explosions were loud, 1016 00:51:59.570 --> 00:52:01.390 it got dark and I really thought that 1017 00:52:01.390 --> 00:52:04.163 man this was it, I'm gone. 1018 00:52:05.380 --> 00:52:07.760 I rolled out that sod. 1019 00:52:07.760 --> 00:52:12.003 Here, got this little sod house right here and small hose, 1020 00:52:13.380 --> 00:52:17.040 keep watering it I guess, someplace to go. 1021 00:52:17.040 --> 00:52:19.250 And so I just wet down the sod and 1022 00:52:19.250 --> 00:52:20.900 I'd wet down underneath of it. 1023 00:52:20.900 --> 00:52:22.467 And I figured I would jump underneath there 1024 00:52:22.467 --> 00:52:25.360 and it would buy me about 15 minutes. 1025 00:52:25.360 --> 00:52:28.850 I said a prayer and figured well, if God wants me to die 1026 00:52:28.850 --> 00:52:32.410 it's my time, but apparently it wasn't my time then. 1027 00:52:32.410 --> 00:52:34.190 And I'm still here. 1028 00:52:36.262 --> 00:52:38.859 It's in God's hands now. 1029 00:52:38.859 --> 00:52:40.337 That's all the power I need, 1030 00:52:40.337 --> 00:52:42.841 We can always replace this material stuff 1031 00:52:42.841 --> 00:52:44.391 but you can't replace you. Amen. 1032 00:52:48.817 --> 00:52:51.650 (fire crackling) 1033 00:52:59.580 --> 00:53:02.620 - We started our evacuation at 7:45 in the morning 1034 00:53:02.620 --> 00:53:05.370 and I made it to Chico around 2:30, 1035 00:53:05.370 --> 00:53:09.260 met up with my daughter's mom and my step mom 1036 00:53:09.260 --> 00:53:11.623 and my girlfriend at the Raley's parking lot. 1037 00:53:13.040 --> 00:53:15.553 And we still hadn't heard from my dad and my uncle. 1038 00:53:17.570 --> 00:53:19.450 And I didn't see how they could have made it out 1039 00:53:19.450 --> 00:53:23.320 if they left after I did. I thought they had 1040 00:53:24.630 --> 00:53:27.513 possibly died to come save my travel trailer. 1041 00:53:28.490 --> 00:53:32.210 So that was very heavy on my mind 1042 00:53:32.210 --> 00:53:35.460 until about an hour and a half later 1043 00:53:35.460 --> 00:53:37.780 they finally made it down to Chico 1044 00:53:37.780 --> 00:53:39.670 and were able to give me a call and let me know 1045 00:53:39.670 --> 00:53:40.503 they were safe. 1046 00:53:42.080 --> 00:53:47.080 - We got separated, that was the toughest part was 1047 00:53:50.190 --> 00:53:53.600 I in this big box van weaseled through 1048 00:53:54.480 --> 00:53:58.268 and got down to Chico where we had talked 1049 00:53:58.268 --> 00:54:03.268 that we were going to meet and my wife wasn't there 1050 00:54:03.770 --> 00:54:06.990 I'm walking back and forth like at the bottom of the hill, 1051 00:54:06.990 --> 00:54:11.717 looking for her, like freaking out, pissed off at myself. 1052 00:54:14.110 --> 00:54:18.397 It was incredibly emotional, incredibly heart wrenching. 1053 00:54:21.050 --> 00:54:26.050 Just thinking that I had left her and so it worked out okay. 1054 00:54:26.840 --> 00:54:30.713 We found each other a couple hours later. 1055 00:54:33.600 --> 00:54:36.770 - So after about 2:30 was when they were able to start 1056 00:54:36.770 --> 00:54:41.490 flowing people out of the temporary refuge areas 1057 00:54:41.490 --> 00:54:43.480 between 2:30 and 3:30 I'll say the town 1058 00:54:43.480 --> 00:54:45.070 pretty much cleared out. 1059 00:54:45.070 --> 00:54:48.540 So from then on, I was just checking on what was left 1060 00:54:48.540 --> 00:54:49.660 and what was gone. 1061 00:54:49.660 --> 00:54:51.510 I remember the first time I gave them the answer 1062 00:54:51.510 --> 00:54:54.313 to how much do you think has gone and I said "80%." 1063 00:54:55.740 --> 00:54:57.610 I'm sure that was their, oh shit moment, 1064 00:54:57.610 --> 00:54:58.970 'cause they hadn't been there, right. 1065 00:54:58.970 --> 00:55:00.787 They hadn't seen it and they're going, 1066 00:55:00.787 --> 00:55:03.637 and you can hear it in their voice going "how much?" 1067 00:55:03.637 --> 00:55:06.193 And I said, "I think 80% is gone." 1068 00:55:07.470 --> 00:55:09.780 And that was, you know, the reality of it, 1069 00:55:09.780 --> 00:55:11.770 it got worse, actually. 1070 00:55:11.770 --> 00:55:14.770 (slow somber music) 1071 00:56:09.890 --> 00:56:13.390 - The operation to locate people who perished in the fire, 1072 00:56:13.390 --> 00:56:16.120 all told when it's all said and done, we used about 1073 00:56:16.120 --> 00:56:20.590 10,000 people from agencies throughout California 1074 00:56:20.590 --> 00:56:22.770 as well as five states. 1075 00:56:22.770 --> 00:56:26.790 They searched 18,000 locations, some of those locations 1076 00:56:26.790 --> 00:56:28.620 were searched twice. 1077 00:56:28.620 --> 00:56:32.110 We used coroners' investigators and law enforcement officers 1078 00:56:32.110 --> 00:56:34.700 and National Guard, Search & Rescue, 1079 00:56:34.700 --> 00:56:36.480 Urban Search & Rescue, firefighters, 1080 00:56:36.480 --> 00:56:39.470 forensic anthropologists, cadaver dogs, 1081 00:56:39.470 --> 00:56:42.290 all of those resources were brought together. 1082 00:56:42.290 --> 00:56:43.460 And as it stands today, 1083 00:56:43.460 --> 00:56:46.133 it looks like 85 individuals perished in the fire. 1084 00:56:47.406 --> 00:56:49.130 And I certainly don't want to discount 1085 00:56:49.130 --> 00:56:54.130 or lessen the traumatic impact of that fact, 1086 00:56:54.750 --> 00:56:57.090 but it does stand in stark contrast 1087 00:56:57.090 --> 00:56:58.980 to the number of people that had to be evacuated. 1088 00:56:58.980 --> 00:57:01.920 I mean I think the estimate is some 46,000 people 1089 00:57:01.920 --> 00:57:03.370 were evacuated out of the area. 1090 00:57:03.370 --> 00:57:07.700 And the fact that the fatality is 85 when you consider 1091 00:57:07.700 --> 00:57:10.883 how much worse it could have been is remarkable. 1092 00:57:11.830 --> 00:57:15.710 - As bad as it was & as how terrible it is to lose 85 lives 1093 00:57:20.030 --> 00:57:22.530 It's hard to use the term successful, 'cause I wouldn't 1094 00:57:22.530 --> 00:57:23.940 say it was successful, but it was, 1095 00:57:23.940 --> 00:57:26.390 let's just say it was probably better than most people 1096 00:57:26.390 --> 00:57:29.120 anticipated that day, knowing how many people lived up there 1097 00:57:29.120 --> 00:57:30.870 and how bad it was. 1098 00:57:30.870 --> 00:57:33.640 'Cause I remember sitting here a couple of days 1099 00:57:33.640 --> 00:57:35.220 after the fire thinking there's going to be at least 1100 00:57:35.220 --> 00:57:37.070 two to three thousand dead in this whole thing. 1101 00:57:38.220 --> 00:57:42.960 - I also thought that thousands of people were dead 1102 00:57:42.960 --> 00:57:46.900 because I thought once I got through that flame 1103 00:57:46.900 --> 00:57:48.710 then everything behind me was burning. 1104 00:57:48.710 --> 00:57:51.960 I that's what i thought and all these cars behind me. 1105 00:57:51.960 --> 00:57:54.730 - Just knowing how the fire was coming this way 1106 00:57:54.730 --> 00:57:59.730 I thought it was gonna engulf just every car on Pearson 1107 00:57:59.980 --> 00:58:01.520 that was behind us. 1108 00:58:01.520 --> 00:58:06.037 I'm really legitimately shocked that more people didn't die. 1109 00:58:10.460 --> 00:58:14.180 - I'm absolutely amazed that the fatality rate 1110 00:58:14.180 --> 00:58:16.020 is as low as it is. 1111 00:58:16.020 --> 00:58:18.453 It is sad that we lost people, absolutely. 1112 00:58:23.830 --> 00:58:26.130 - [Ev Durán] As of one year after the Camp Fire 1113 00:58:26.130 --> 00:58:27.283 here's what we know. 1114 00:58:28.200 --> 00:58:30.690 It is the deadliest and most destructive fire in the 1115 00:58:30.690 --> 00:58:34.110 recorded history of California, so far. 1116 00:58:34.110 --> 00:58:37.830 It immediately claimed 85 lives and is responsible for 1117 00:58:37.830 --> 00:58:40.360 taking at least several more since. 1118 00:58:40.360 --> 00:58:45.360 It burned over 153,000 acres and destroyed 18,800 structures 1119 00:58:46.470 --> 00:58:51.070 including 14,000 homes and more than 500 businesses. 1120 00:58:51.070 --> 00:58:54.010 The fire started on November 8th and was not formally 1121 00:58:54.010 --> 00:58:58.140 extinguished until November 25th, more than two weeks later. 1122 00:58:58.140 --> 00:59:00.380 The cause of the fire was a spark, 1123 00:59:00.380 --> 00:59:03.460 cast down to the dry earth from a poorly maintained 1124 00:59:03.460 --> 00:59:06.280 electric transmission line belonging to California 1125 00:59:06.280 --> 00:59:08.183 power giant, PG&E. 1126 00:59:09.180 --> 00:59:11.490 But in the days immediately following the fire, 1127 00:59:11.490 --> 00:59:14.180 we knew none of this, the people of Paradise 1128 00:59:14.180 --> 00:59:16.300 didn't know the full extent of the damage 1129 00:59:16.300 --> 00:59:18.630 and not being allowed to return to their town 1130 00:59:18.630 --> 00:59:21.230 they poured over their computers and their phones 1131 00:59:21.230 --> 00:59:24.050 for any news or status updates of their home, 1132 00:59:24.050 --> 00:59:27.260 their neighborhood, their beloved community. 1133 00:59:27.260 --> 00:59:29.990 - Honestly, I'm not even sure what day it was, 1134 00:59:29.990 --> 00:59:33.223 maybe it might've been day three. 1135 00:59:35.420 --> 00:59:38.740 It seemed an eternity, but I got a photograph 1136 00:59:38.740 --> 00:59:43.740 of my property and you just kind of drop to your knees. 1137 00:59:44.240 --> 00:59:47.080 - It seemed like an eternal waiting period 1138 00:59:47.080 --> 00:59:49.410 because even once we knew the status of the house, 1139 00:59:49.410 --> 00:59:51.960 and even once we had a photograph of that, 1140 00:59:51.960 --> 00:59:56.410 of course we were very eager, like many, 1141 00:59:56.410 --> 00:59:58.780 I would say not everyone, but many, many people 1142 00:59:58.780 --> 01:00:00.650 so eager to get up there. 1143 01:00:00.650 --> 01:00:05.650 And part of that is the hope that amongst the rubble 1144 01:00:06.090 --> 01:00:08.040 you'll find something. 1145 01:00:08.040 --> 01:00:11.040 (slow somber music) 1146 01:00:35.457 --> 01:00:39.707 - I went up on Saturday after the fire with CalFire 1147 01:00:41.530 --> 01:00:46.030 and I was not, I knew it was bad from what I had heard 1148 01:00:50.510 --> 01:00:52.675 and what have you, but I really didn't expect 1149 01:00:52.675 --> 01:00:55.939 the level of devastation that there was. 1150 01:00:55.939 --> 01:00:59.689 Driving through, it was like a total war zone. 1151 01:01:07.360 --> 01:01:11.340 - I lost everything, everything I had of my mom's, 1152 01:01:12.700 --> 01:01:16.140 everything from the day my kids was born, 1153 01:01:16.140 --> 01:01:18.493 the day we were married, everything. 1154 01:01:20.850 --> 01:01:23.650 When I went back up there I broke down 1155 01:01:23.650 --> 01:01:27.520 because it looks so terrible, you know all the burnin', 1156 01:01:27.520 --> 01:01:28.583 it was so bad. 1157 01:01:29.490 --> 01:01:31.733 It was nothing left, nothing. 1158 01:01:35.084 --> 01:01:37.010 - You know what's crazy is, to be fully honest it didn't 1159 01:01:37.010 --> 01:01:38.470 occur to me until two days after the fire. 1160 01:01:38.470 --> 01:01:40.340 I couldn't even process everything 1161 01:01:40.340 --> 01:01:42.510 I wasn't even thinking about and then one of my friends 1162 01:01:42.510 --> 01:01:46.130 said, "Oh man I'm so glad I grabbed my kid's baby books." 1163 01:01:46.130 --> 01:01:50.300 And the second she said that I just fell apart 1164 01:01:50.300 --> 01:01:52.873 and realized how much I had lost. 1165 01:02:00.830 --> 01:02:05.830 - We had hazmat suits and masks and gloves and booties 1166 01:02:06.120 --> 01:02:10.383 and goggles and tried to be as prepared as we could. 1167 01:02:12.100 --> 01:02:14.350 It was, as they said, very hazardous. 1168 01:02:14.350 --> 01:02:19.240 I mean shards of metal and glass and muck 1169 01:02:19.240 --> 01:02:20.583 because it had rained. 1170 01:02:28.020 --> 01:02:30.340 - I was able to take my camera into Paradise 1171 01:02:30.340 --> 01:02:33.230 about a week before the town re-opened to the public. 1172 01:02:33.230 --> 01:02:35.470 And this is video I took with my cell phone 1173 01:02:35.470 --> 01:02:38.670 as I approached my mother's home for the first time. 1174 01:02:38.670 --> 01:02:41.520 I can tell you firsthand your brain doesn't really 1175 01:02:41.520 --> 01:02:43.060 know what to do. 1176 01:02:43.060 --> 01:02:45.689 Mine felt like it was backfiring, sputtering, 1177 01:02:45.689 --> 01:02:47.640 trying to load. 1178 01:02:47.640 --> 01:02:50.560 I couldn't even really feel sad about what I was seeing 1179 01:02:50.560 --> 01:02:52.810 because it didn't feel like reality. 1180 01:02:52.810 --> 01:02:55.350 This couldn't be real, it's a mistake. 1181 01:02:55.350 --> 01:02:57.510 Someone is playing a trick on me. 1182 01:02:57.510 --> 01:03:00.340 This does not compute. 1183 01:03:00.340 --> 01:03:02.620 In the days following I was able to help my mom 1184 01:03:02.620 --> 01:03:06.000 dig through the ashes of what were once our things 1185 01:03:06.000 --> 01:03:08.450 and as I would look at my mom I would wonder, 1186 01:03:08.450 --> 01:03:10.330 what's going to happen to her? 1187 01:03:10.330 --> 01:03:12.080 Where's she gonna go? 1188 01:03:12.080 --> 01:03:15.860 - Hold on, hold on, we're gonna go this way, 1189 01:03:15.860 --> 01:03:18.370 We're gonna go this way, yeah, good girl. 1190 01:03:19.257 --> 01:03:21.390 Do you wanna go see Jim? 1191 01:03:21.390 --> 01:03:23.093 Just a minute, just a minute. 1192 01:03:27.110 --> 01:03:29.667 Okay go, oh, she's so excited. 1193 01:03:38.380 --> 01:03:40.650 And she's so good, she's so good 1194 01:03:40.650 --> 01:03:43.210 she just comes even off leash which we never do. 1195 01:03:43.210 --> 01:03:45.653 Hello, go see him, go see him. 1196 01:03:48.790 --> 01:03:52.493 - Yes, there he is, there he is. 1197 01:03:53.860 --> 01:03:58.600 - We have lived in a hotel of one sort or another since 1198 01:03:58.600 --> 01:04:03.520 November 9th and today is March 17th, St. Patrick's Day. 1199 01:04:03.520 --> 01:04:08.520 So, longer, well I shouldn't say that, 1200 01:04:09.100 --> 01:04:10.610 I was gonna say longer than we thought 1201 01:04:10.610 --> 01:04:11.750 but who knew what to think? 1202 01:04:11.750 --> 01:04:13.360 Nobody knew what to think. 1203 01:04:13.360 --> 01:04:16.450 If I stand in central location, I can show you the kitchen 1204 01:04:19.260 --> 01:04:22.380 and I can show you the dining area 1205 01:04:23.670 --> 01:04:27.380 and the great room, living room, family room, 1206 01:04:27.380 --> 01:04:30.620 den, dog place. 1207 01:04:30.620 --> 01:04:32.063 This is the office. 1208 01:04:33.160 --> 01:04:36.470 The secret to the office is there are lots of things 1209 01:04:36.470 --> 01:04:40.810 underneath the table, like a big box with all the FEMA 1210 01:04:40.810 --> 01:04:44.809 papers and all the binders with the insurance info. 1211 01:04:44.809 --> 01:04:49.520 And on top of the office you can see house plans 1212 01:04:49.520 --> 01:04:53.230 that are hopefully gonna be in the works soon. 1213 01:04:53.230 --> 01:04:55.163 So that's our next big step. 1214 01:04:56.650 --> 01:04:59.290 So when we were originally displaced 1215 01:04:59.290 --> 01:05:03.570 we were in a motel room which we were over the moon 1216 01:05:03.570 --> 01:05:04.490 thankful to have. 1217 01:05:04.490 --> 01:05:05.820 We were there for two months 1218 01:05:05.820 --> 01:05:09.190 and then we moved here at the Residence Inn. 1219 01:05:09.190 --> 01:05:13.673 So we have this whole living area and the bedroom/bathroom, 1220 01:05:15.150 --> 01:05:18.940 it's 504 square feet and it feels like a mansion. 1221 01:05:18.940 --> 01:05:21.943 We have just been so, so lucky. 1222 01:05:23.200 --> 01:05:25.160 - [Ev Durán] Under ordinary circumstances, 1223 01:05:25.160 --> 01:05:27.480 it may seem strange to consider being forced to live 1224 01:05:27.480 --> 01:05:30.830 in a hotel room for five months as "lucky." 1225 01:05:30.830 --> 01:05:33.150 But these aren't ordinary circumstances. 1226 01:05:33.150 --> 01:05:36.590 And my mother was incredibly lucky. For many others, 1227 01:05:36.590 --> 01:05:41.000 housing, temporary or otherwise, was far less certain. 1228 01:05:41.000 --> 01:05:44.420 Many, like my uncle, were forced to live in their cars 1229 01:05:44.420 --> 01:05:46.740 or in tent cities that sprang up in the parking lots 1230 01:05:46.740 --> 01:05:48.500 of Chico businesses. 1231 01:05:48.500 --> 01:05:52.220 Some, like Dorothy and Don and their large extended family, 1232 01:05:52.220 --> 01:05:55.263 were able to stay with relatives in the surrounding areas. 1233 01:05:57.210 --> 01:06:00.450 - We have approximately a 100 plus family members that 1234 01:06:00.450 --> 01:06:05.450 lived in Paradise and in our family alone 22 homes 1235 01:06:06.880 --> 01:06:10.220 were burned and lost, 22 families. 1236 01:06:10.220 --> 01:06:14.457 - So we've opened up our house after the fire 1237 01:06:14.457 --> 01:06:19.457 and we had out of the 22 families that lost their homes. 1238 01:06:19.480 --> 01:06:23.470 We had 11 of the families living here at one point 1239 01:06:23.470 --> 01:06:26.003 and some 45 people. 1240 01:06:28.050 --> 01:06:29.540 - [Ev Durán] As the months go by 1241 01:06:29.540 --> 01:06:31.700 these shell-shocked residents struggle to find 1242 01:06:31.700 --> 01:06:35.280 some degree of normalcy, which is exceedingly difficult 1243 01:06:35.280 --> 01:06:38.720 when nearly everything you've ever known has disappeared, 1244 01:06:38.720 --> 01:06:41.643 even those things you once thought indomitable. 1245 01:06:42.869 --> 01:06:44.330 (whistle blown ) 1246 01:06:44.330 --> 01:06:45.873 - Hey, bring it up you guys. 1247 01:06:49.500 --> 01:06:51.180 Guys get on a knee. 1248 01:06:51.180 --> 01:06:53.190 Here we go, on a knee, let's go. 1249 01:06:53.190 --> 01:06:54.910 We're gonna get in six teams, 1250 01:06:54.910 --> 01:06:56.870 we're gonna have three games going on. 1251 01:06:56.870 --> 01:07:00.950 This is Ev Durán, he is a graduate of Paradise High School, 1252 01:07:00.950 --> 01:07:03.660 and he's doing a documentary on the Camp Fire 1253 01:07:03.660 --> 01:07:05.660 and we're gonna be a part of that, okay? 1254 01:07:07.270 --> 01:07:08.990 - [Ev Durán] The Camp Fire struck Paradise 1255 01:07:08.990 --> 01:07:12.020 one day before the High School Football Playoffs were set to 1256 01:07:12.020 --> 01:07:15.720 begin and PHS Football, with its players and coaches 1257 01:07:15.720 --> 01:07:19.049 scattered and homeless, was forced to forfeit their season. 1258 01:07:19.049 --> 01:07:23.460 Now, like the entire town, they face an uncertain future, 1259 01:07:23.460 --> 01:07:25.603 both as a school and as a team. 1260 01:07:29.020 --> 01:07:32.730 - Numbers wise we're about half the size, our school is 1261 01:07:32.730 --> 01:07:36.470 and that's the same with football players on campus. 1262 01:07:36.470 --> 01:07:40.080 A lot of adjustments every day, a lot of change. 1263 01:07:40.080 --> 01:07:41.651 You're not playing tackle. 1264 01:07:41.651 --> 01:07:44.280 - Damn. 1265 01:07:44.280 --> 01:07:45.330 They always say that. 1266 01:07:48.760 --> 01:07:51.260 - You guys are on film you bunch of mountain boys. 1267 01:07:53.300 --> 01:07:57.030 - We have a home game August 23rd and I think about it 1268 01:07:57.030 --> 01:07:58.253 every day right now. 1269 01:08:00.589 --> 01:08:04.550 And I know our kids do and our football team does. 1270 01:08:04.550 --> 01:08:06.320 - [Ev Durán] Despite having their first game back 1271 01:08:06.320 --> 01:08:09.190 at PHS on the schedule, there is no guarantee 1272 01:08:09.190 --> 01:08:10.710 that the campus will be ready. 1273 01:08:10.710 --> 01:08:13.150 - The kids have to be safe to be able to go up there. 1274 01:08:13.150 --> 01:08:15.780 So the trees, the water, the soil sampling, 1275 01:08:15.780 --> 01:08:18.500 things like that, has to be deemed safe. 1276 01:08:18.500 --> 01:08:22.110 The goal for the school is to have graduation 1277 01:08:22.110 --> 01:08:23.290 up there this year. 1278 01:08:23.290 --> 01:08:25.990 So if they get graduation up there, 1279 01:08:25.990 --> 01:08:27.713 I'll breathe a sigh of relief. 1280 01:08:30.696 --> 01:08:31.529 - PHS 1281 01:08:33.170 --> 01:08:37.230 - This is our old home, this is a business my wife and I 1282 01:08:37.230 --> 01:08:39.260 started, Custom Made CrossFit. 1283 01:08:39.260 --> 01:08:41.790 It's weird to be back, we haven't been here for a while. 1284 01:08:41.790 --> 01:08:45.250 We came right after the fire but now, what's it been? 1285 01:08:45.250 --> 01:08:49.900 - We had a bunch of house stuff in our attic, 1286 01:08:49.900 --> 01:08:53.440 like all of our house possessions up in our attic. 1287 01:08:53.440 --> 01:08:56.410 And so like one little coffee mug we found made it. 1288 01:08:56.410 --> 01:08:58.210 - Oh, there's another one right there. 1289 01:08:58.210 --> 01:08:59.590 - That's oh, that's the coffee mug. 1290 01:08:59.590 --> 01:09:02.053 - Oh, that's it. 1291 01:09:03.190 --> 01:09:05.270 - [Ev Durán] For too many residents of Paradise 1292 01:09:05.270 --> 01:09:08.100 like the Delgados and Geoffrey Greitzer, 1293 01:09:08.100 --> 01:09:10.640 they didn't just lose their homes, they lost their 1294 01:09:10.640 --> 01:09:14.300 businesses, their jobs, their financial security. 1295 01:09:14.300 --> 01:09:16.480 But yes, also their houses. 1296 01:09:16.480 --> 01:09:19.350 Imagine you woke up tomorrow and you didn't have a house 1297 01:09:19.350 --> 01:09:21.120 and you didn't have a job. 1298 01:09:21.120 --> 01:09:22.173 What would you do? 1299 01:09:23.160 --> 01:09:25.310 It's almost unfathomable. 1300 01:09:25.310 --> 01:09:27.430 But that's what these people are living through 1301 01:09:27.430 --> 01:09:29.320 every single day. 1302 01:09:29.320 --> 01:09:34.240 - We have been incredibly lucky, 1303 01:09:34.240 --> 01:09:37.930 blessed, compared to some other people around here. 1304 01:09:37.930 --> 01:09:42.923 We had insurance and we had, we ended up finding a place, 1305 01:09:44.210 --> 01:09:46.210 but there's a lot of people that didn't. 1306 01:09:47.257 --> 01:09:50.270 That's really tough, really, really tough. 1307 01:09:50.270 --> 01:09:55.270 The hardest thing was, or is, this was ultimately 1308 01:10:00.650 --> 01:10:02.610 gonna be retirement. 1309 01:10:02.610 --> 01:10:07.180 I just finished paying off this entire building, land 1310 01:10:07.180 --> 01:10:08.560 and everything. 1311 01:10:08.560 --> 01:10:12.283 This would be the entrance to the front of the building. 1312 01:10:13.230 --> 01:10:15.330 The first part, as you walked in you would 1313 01:10:16.350 --> 01:10:18.610 get the full experience of chocolate. 1314 01:10:18.610 --> 01:10:21.320 You would come into the store, 1315 01:10:21.320 --> 01:10:24.220 get that heavenly aroma of chocolate. 1316 01:10:24.220 --> 01:10:25.840 - [Ev Durán] Just like Geoffrey Greitzer, 1317 01:10:25.840 --> 01:10:28.790 Pam and Bill Hartley owned and operated a quintessential 1318 01:10:28.790 --> 01:10:31.750 Paradise business, Joy Lyn's Candies. 1319 01:10:31.750 --> 01:10:34.000 This iconic candy shop was known to collect 1320 01:10:34.000 --> 01:10:36.280 international awards for their sweets. 1321 01:10:36.280 --> 01:10:39.283 All of which were manufactured here at this location. 1322 01:10:40.820 --> 01:10:42.890 As you guys stand here right now, 1323 01:10:42.890 --> 01:10:46.040 I know this has to still be a little surreal. 1324 01:10:46.040 --> 01:10:48.010 How long, I mean, since the fire, 1325 01:10:48.010 --> 01:10:50.100 has it taken you to get to a point where you can, 1326 01:10:50.100 --> 01:10:51.840 I mean and maybe it's still not here, 1327 01:10:51.840 --> 01:10:56.310 but where you can be here and not just be overcome? 1328 01:10:56.310 --> 01:10:58.820 - Yeah, you go there a little bit 1329 01:10:58.820 --> 01:11:01.260 but then you can't spend a lot of time there, 1330 01:11:01.260 --> 01:11:04.950 at least for me and so I'll pop my brain back out of it 1331 01:11:05.860 --> 01:11:09.253 and visit it, like now I'm visiting it, thinking... 1332 01:11:16.450 --> 01:11:17.673 And then you can't talk. 1333 01:11:18.760 --> 01:11:21.760 - And I was saying that as we drove up today, 1334 01:11:21.760 --> 01:11:24.720 I said, you know, it's a little easier with every trip 1335 01:11:24.720 --> 01:11:27.600 into town as we drive through this devastation 1336 01:11:27.600 --> 01:11:30.120 to get a little more accustomed to it because 1337 01:11:30.120 --> 01:11:32.380 now we're seeing things cleared off, 1338 01:11:32.380 --> 01:11:34.220 now we're seeing good things happening. 1339 01:11:34.220 --> 01:11:37.730 And so some of that, the ugliness is all disappearing 1340 01:11:37.730 --> 01:11:41.520 and we're transitioning to another phase. 1341 01:11:41.520 --> 01:11:46.103 So it's a little bit easier, but we do have those moments, 1342 01:11:47.020 --> 01:11:49.420 that crying time where you just realize 1343 01:11:49.420 --> 01:11:51.920 how quickly life changes. 1344 01:11:51.920 --> 01:11:53.780 You're upside down in a couple of hours 1345 01:11:53.780 --> 01:11:56.590 and it's hard to sometimes go back and reflect on that. 1346 01:11:56.590 --> 01:11:59.740 You wanna try and keep your mind in a positive mode 1347 01:11:59.740 --> 01:12:03.360 and say, "What can we do now to help this town rebuild 1348 01:12:03.360 --> 01:12:05.500 and make it a better place than it was?" 1349 01:12:05.500 --> 01:12:07.580 "How can we be a part of that?" 1350 01:12:07.580 --> 01:12:09.580 And let's get active in doing that, 1351 01:12:09.580 --> 01:12:12.940 and then that keeps us in a positive frame of mind, 1352 01:12:12.940 --> 01:12:15.240 and we're able to deal with this a lot better. 1353 01:12:17.500 --> 01:12:19.170 - [Ev Durán] Pam and Bill have already picked out 1354 01:12:19.170 --> 01:12:22.980 a new location and are rebuilding Joy Lyn's in Paradise. 1355 01:12:22.980 --> 01:12:25.580 As the town continues its attempt to recover, 1356 01:12:25.580 --> 01:12:27.360 the people who are probably happiest 1357 01:12:27.360 --> 01:12:30.030 about every announced rebuild are the folks 1358 01:12:30.030 --> 01:12:32.150 who didn't have to themselves. 1359 01:12:32.150 --> 01:12:35.040 Almost everyone in Paradise lost their homes. 1360 01:12:35.040 --> 01:12:37.410 What about the people who didn't? 1361 01:12:37.410 --> 01:12:39.440 - What frustrates me is people say Paradise 1362 01:12:39.440 --> 01:12:41.160 was wiped off the map. 1363 01:12:41.160 --> 01:12:43.030 No, it was not wiped off the map. 1364 01:12:43.030 --> 01:12:47.270 I'm still here and a lot of people are still here 1365 01:12:47.270 --> 01:12:48.850 and Paradise... 1366 01:12:48.850 --> 01:12:49.683 - Still exists. 1367 01:12:49.683 --> 01:12:52.980 - Paradise is my home, and so it's like no, 1368 01:12:52.980 --> 01:12:54.770 we're not off the map, we're here. 1369 01:12:54.770 --> 01:12:59.180 We're clinging to the map and will continue to cling. 1370 01:12:59.180 --> 01:13:01.220 - [Ev Durán] For these people clinging to the map, 1371 01:13:01.220 --> 01:13:04.850 whose homes didn't burn, it's a uniquely confusing situation 1372 01:13:04.850 --> 01:13:06.330 that they find themselves in, 1373 01:13:06.330 --> 01:13:09.430 filled with a lot of conflicting emotions. 1374 01:13:09.430 --> 01:13:12.143 - It was hard for us, like "oh, that's great." 1375 01:13:14.820 --> 01:13:16.820 And we didn't share it with a lot of people 1376 01:13:16.820 --> 01:13:21.710 because we did have kind of that survivor's guilt. 1377 01:13:21.710 --> 01:13:23.760 It took us a while to really decide, 1378 01:13:23.760 --> 01:13:25.810 a lot of people were like, hey you guys need to just clean 1379 01:13:25.810 --> 01:13:27.800 your house up, because it was smoke damaged 1380 01:13:27.800 --> 01:13:29.330 and just get back up there. 1381 01:13:29.330 --> 01:13:31.130 And it's like well, there's no water, 1382 01:13:32.450 --> 01:13:35.940 we didn't get power for a long time 1383 01:13:35.940 --> 01:13:38.593 so how are you gonna start repairing a house? 1384 01:13:40.360 --> 01:13:42.060 - It's very strange being homeless. 1385 01:13:42.060 --> 01:13:46.200 It's really, to know you do not have anything to go back to, 1386 01:13:46.200 --> 01:13:48.273 but it's pretty final and I feel worse for people 1387 01:13:48.273 --> 01:13:50.470 that have their houses standing. I think that's a much worse 1388 01:13:50.470 --> 01:13:53.600 situation to be in, you can't reinhabit them right now, 1389 01:13:53.600 --> 01:13:56.270 they need to be repaired and you're in limbo. 1390 01:13:56.270 --> 01:13:58.340 - This finality that Savannah speaks of 1391 01:13:58.340 --> 01:13:59.870 can be a valuable thing. 1392 01:13:59.870 --> 01:14:01.770 For folks like her and my mom 1393 01:14:01.770 --> 01:14:04.060 who lost their homes and all their possessions 1394 01:14:04.060 --> 01:14:06.770 but we're fortunate enough to have good insurance, 1395 01:14:06.770 --> 01:14:09.360 they get to decide how they move forward. 1396 01:14:09.360 --> 01:14:13.170 They have that choice: rebuild, buy nearby, 1397 01:14:13.170 --> 01:14:15.960 or buy far away and start completely over. 1398 01:14:15.960 --> 01:14:19.090 But if you didn't lose your home, imagine that reality. 1399 01:14:19.090 --> 01:14:21.790 What if overnight your home was dropped into the middle of 1400 01:14:21.790 --> 01:14:23.720 an unrecognizable landscape, 1401 01:14:23.720 --> 01:14:26.370 far removed from the community you loved 1402 01:14:26.370 --> 01:14:30.310 and everything around you appears toxic and dangerous. 1403 01:14:30.310 --> 01:14:33.280 It's hard to imagine. Burned or spared, 1404 01:14:33.280 --> 01:14:35.170 there are no winners here. 1405 01:14:35.170 --> 01:14:36.360 - It's been tough. 1406 01:14:36.360 --> 01:14:38.950 It's been a battle financially with insurance, 1407 01:14:38.950 --> 01:14:41.060 they don't wanna pay for things that they should. 1408 01:14:41.060 --> 01:14:46.060 And so that's been really hard and then just the whole, 1409 01:14:46.220 --> 01:14:49.664 like the first week for me was really hard. 1410 01:14:49.664 --> 01:14:54.100 It sunk in and was like, this is our new reality. 1411 01:14:54.100 --> 01:14:57.350 Every window I look out, it's a war zone. 1412 01:14:57.350 --> 01:15:00.327 - Every day you're like, you just can't believe it. 1413 01:15:00.327 --> 01:15:03.810 You think it's got to get better, like easier, 1414 01:15:03.810 --> 01:15:04.643 but it doesn't. 1415 01:15:05.630 --> 01:15:07.700 - There's no family anymore around, 1416 01:15:07.700 --> 01:15:10.490 there's no neighbors, there's no friends, 1417 01:15:10.490 --> 01:15:13.230 a hospital if something happens, you know. 1418 01:15:13.230 --> 01:15:15.443 So that's been tough. 1419 01:15:16.490 --> 01:15:19.560 - You know and the decision's kinda made for you, 1420 01:15:19.560 --> 01:15:22.790 the one, our home survived. 1421 01:15:22.790 --> 01:15:24.280 Whether we would have been better off 1422 01:15:24.280 --> 01:15:27.530 if it had burnt, maybe. 1423 01:15:27.530 --> 01:15:29.050 - Yeah there was thoughts actually at times 1424 01:15:29.050 --> 01:15:29.930 it was like, you know what? 1425 01:15:29.930 --> 01:15:31.660 Make it easier if it was gone. 1426 01:15:31.660 --> 01:15:35.700 That's what I kept thinking because she kept telling me, 1427 01:15:35.700 --> 01:15:39.023 she's like "I won't, I can't go back, there's no way." 1428 01:15:41.790 --> 01:15:44.477 And there's still thoughts, 1429 01:15:45.380 --> 01:15:48.220 but we're so tied to the community, 1430 01:15:48.220 --> 01:15:51.283 this is where our life has been. 1431 01:15:52.180 --> 01:15:53.330 So how do you leave it? 1432 01:15:54.590 --> 01:15:56.650 - We'll never understand what it feels like 1433 01:15:56.650 --> 01:15:58.340 to have our home burn to the ground. 1434 01:15:58.340 --> 01:15:59.870 We'll never know that pain. 1435 01:15:59.870 --> 01:16:03.670 And I feel awful for everyone that went through that, 1436 01:16:03.670 --> 01:16:05.540 almost everyone I know. 1437 01:16:05.540 --> 01:16:07.690 And those people will never know 1438 01:16:07.690 --> 01:16:09.430 what it's like to live here 1439 01:16:09.430 --> 01:16:14.050 while the town tries to come back. 1440 01:16:14.050 --> 01:16:16.050 - [Ev Durán] Paradise is coming back, 1441 01:16:16.050 --> 01:16:19.370 but with a tragedy this monumental, the challenges facing 1442 01:16:19.370 --> 01:16:22.120 these resilient people are unprecedented 1443 01:16:22.120 --> 01:16:23.303 and far from over. 1444 01:16:24.450 --> 01:16:28.180 - We try to focus on the positive, like, looking at, 1445 01:16:28.180 --> 01:16:30.170 we lost trees but we gained views 1446 01:16:30.170 --> 01:16:32.910 or you know we lost this, but we're gonna gain this. 1447 01:16:32.910 --> 01:16:35.570 And it's like, you can focus on the positive all you want 1448 01:16:35.570 --> 01:16:38.010 but at the same time you're still living 1449 01:16:38.010 --> 01:16:40.940 in like a destruction zone and you have to see it. 1450 01:16:40.940 --> 01:16:43.840 We don't ever get to have like our normal daily life back. 1451 01:16:44.970 --> 01:16:48.560 - The longer people are out of the area 1452 01:16:48.560 --> 01:16:51.260 the more they settle into their new life, 1453 01:16:51.260 --> 01:16:54.690 in the new house, the new rental, they get into that mode 1454 01:16:54.690 --> 01:16:56.250 and they may not come back. 1455 01:16:56.250 --> 01:16:59.603 - You know, even if 50% come back, 1456 01:17:01.460 --> 01:17:03.053 is the town gonna be solvent? 1457 01:17:04.010 --> 01:17:05.990 Will it be able to sustain? 1458 01:17:05.990 --> 01:17:08.828 Are we gonna have the services? 1459 01:17:08.828 --> 01:17:10.450 A lot things that they don't have the answers, 1460 01:17:10.450 --> 01:17:11.700 they don't know. 1461 01:17:12.940 --> 01:17:15.480 - And not having the hospital now and not sure 1462 01:17:15.480 --> 01:17:16.860 what they're doing, 1463 01:17:16.860 --> 01:17:20.060 that was a big factor into Paradise's income 1464 01:17:20.060 --> 01:17:21.430 and the schools. 1465 01:17:21.430 --> 01:17:25.210 So that's, I don't know what's gonna come of all that. 1466 01:17:25.210 --> 01:17:26.960 - You do have to do some different things 1467 01:17:26.960 --> 01:17:29.270 in terms of how you build the town, 1468 01:17:29.270 --> 01:17:32.690 but you don't wanna do things that make it so expensive 1469 01:17:32.690 --> 01:17:36.140 and so difficult that people who want to come home just 1470 01:17:36.140 --> 01:17:37.390 don't, 'cause they can't. 1471 01:17:39.150 --> 01:17:42.080 - Most of the problem with the hitches we have is 1472 01:17:42.080 --> 01:17:44.870 the enormity of this disaster and the uniqueness of it. 1473 01:17:44.870 --> 01:17:48.440 We've not really seen a fire as huge as this is 1474 01:17:48.440 --> 01:17:51.423 where it's basically almost burned out an entire culture. 1475 01:17:53.600 --> 01:17:56.510 - The Federal Government and the State, yeah. 1476 01:17:56.510 --> 01:17:57.810 They'll help for a short time, 1477 01:17:57.810 --> 01:18:00.303 but what happens at the end of that? 1478 01:18:01.270 --> 01:18:02.910 So there's a lot of uncertainties, 1479 01:18:02.910 --> 01:18:05.210 still, moving forward. 1480 01:18:05.210 --> 01:18:07.350 - [Ev Durán] In the midst of this uncertainty, 1481 01:18:07.350 --> 01:18:11.160 another challenge arises, how to address the scars, 1482 01:18:11.160 --> 01:18:12.963 that hide just beneath the surface. 1483 01:18:14.150 --> 01:18:17.620 - It's very difficult to put that 1484 01:18:17.620 --> 01:18:19.010 and then losing everything you have. 1485 01:18:19.010 --> 01:18:21.430 And then now you're on top of that, 1486 01:18:21.430 --> 01:18:25.020 you're thinking about finances, where do you live? 1487 01:18:25.020 --> 01:18:27.270 I'm still homeless, five months later. 1488 01:18:27.270 --> 01:18:29.540 That's nobody's fault but my own. 1489 01:18:29.540 --> 01:18:34.540 But still, all this wrapped up together, 1490 01:18:36.820 --> 01:18:39.200 it goes like this, emotions go up and down. 1491 01:18:39.200 --> 01:18:42.050 Yeah, there's post traumatic stress with it, absolutely. 1492 01:18:42.050 --> 01:18:44.590 And it's gonna continue because there's a lot of 1493 01:18:44.590 --> 01:18:46.180 uncertainty still going on. 1494 01:18:46.180 --> 01:18:48.130 - [Ev Durán] While interviewing people for this film, 1495 01:18:48.130 --> 01:18:50.760 I heard the phrase "post traumatic stress disorder," 1496 01:18:50.760 --> 01:18:54.910 or PTSD, quite frequently, and understandably so. 1497 01:18:54.910 --> 01:18:56.550 I wanted to speak to someone who could offer 1498 01:18:56.550 --> 01:18:58.250 valuable insight on the subject, 1499 01:18:58.250 --> 01:19:01.300 and maybe recommendations on how to work through it. 1500 01:19:01.300 --> 01:19:04.580 Fortunately, I was able to find Dr. Steven Thorp, 1501 01:19:04.580 --> 01:19:07.010 who is not just a Paradise High School graduate, 1502 01:19:07.010 --> 01:19:10.130 but also an expert in the field of PTSD. 1503 01:19:10.130 --> 01:19:13.343 And yes, this is Paradise, so obviously he's my cousin. 1504 01:19:15.900 --> 01:19:18.000 - PTSD is from a traumatic event, 1505 01:19:18.000 --> 01:19:20.880 which almost always is a life or death situation. 1506 01:19:20.880 --> 01:19:24.480 So it's either a serious injury or a risk of death 1507 01:19:24.480 --> 01:19:27.237 or the witnessing of death or serious injury. 1508 01:19:32.180 --> 01:19:33.550 One of the most common symptoms 1509 01:19:33.550 --> 01:19:35.290 is what we call hyper-vigilance, 1510 01:19:35.290 --> 01:19:37.300 which is a sense of being on guard all the time 1511 01:19:37.300 --> 01:19:38.690 after a traumatic event. 1512 01:19:38.690 --> 01:19:41.300 And that's very common in people with PTSD. 1513 01:19:41.300 --> 01:19:45.393 And so they're more edgy, they're more alert. 1514 01:19:46.290 --> 01:19:48.940 The people that I treat that have PTSD, 1515 01:19:48.940 --> 01:19:50.120 when they walk into a building, 1516 01:19:50.120 --> 01:19:53.650 can't just walk into a building and relax in that room. 1517 01:19:53.650 --> 01:19:54.483 They walk into the building 1518 01:19:54.483 --> 01:19:56.730 and they're immediately searching for exits, 1519 01:19:56.730 --> 01:19:58.920 they're immediately scanning the people in the room, 1520 01:19:58.920 --> 01:20:02.070 to see if the people are dangerous or if they have weapons, 1521 01:20:02.070 --> 01:20:04.383 and so they can never truly relax. 1522 01:20:06.170 --> 01:20:09.620 Not being able stop thinking about the traumatic event 1523 01:20:09.620 --> 01:20:11.210 and yet not wanting to think about it. 1524 01:20:11.210 --> 01:20:13.220 So having these unwanted memories 1525 01:20:13.220 --> 01:20:15.400 coming into mind is common. 1526 01:20:15.400 --> 01:20:20.400 Being worried about any stressors or what we call triggers. 1527 01:20:20.910 --> 01:20:22.940 So these are reminders of the event. 1528 01:20:22.940 --> 01:20:26.180 And so that's also very common with PTSD, 1529 01:20:26.180 --> 01:20:29.020 that they will avoid anything that reminds them 1530 01:20:29.020 --> 01:20:30.670 and the consequence is that their world 1531 01:20:30.670 --> 01:20:32.330 kind of gets smaller and smaller, 1532 01:20:32.330 --> 01:20:34.360 and sometimes ultimately so that they 1533 01:20:34.360 --> 01:20:36.150 can't leave the house anymore. 1534 01:20:36.150 --> 01:20:38.260 And so that's how we help people, 1535 01:20:38.260 --> 01:20:40.000 is kind of encouraging them to get back out 1536 01:20:40.000 --> 01:20:42.100 into the world even though it feels uncomfortable 1537 01:20:42.100 --> 01:20:43.000 in the short term. 1538 01:20:44.530 --> 01:20:47.060 One thing that we know is that people ironically 1539 01:20:47.060 --> 01:20:50.440 that do their best to avoid anything to do with that memory, 1540 01:20:50.440 --> 01:20:52.160 or anything to do with that situation 1541 01:20:52.160 --> 01:20:54.027 are the people who are most likely to get PTSD. 1542 01:20:54.027 --> 01:20:56.420 And so some people who survived the fires, 1543 01:20:56.420 --> 01:20:57.410 don't wanna think about it, 1544 01:20:57.410 --> 01:20:58.360 don't wanna talk about it, 1545 01:20:58.360 --> 01:21:02.100 don't wanna go back up to Paradise, understandably, 1546 01:21:02.100 --> 01:21:05.293 but that actually might make them more susceptible. 1547 01:21:07.550 --> 01:21:10.610 Now, anybody who goes through a really serious 1548 01:21:10.610 --> 01:21:13.600 traumatic event is gonna have some symptoms 1549 01:21:13.600 --> 01:21:15.677 from that even if they don't have full PTSD. 1550 01:21:15.677 --> 01:21:18.850 On the good side, as you're talking about, people 1551 01:21:18.850 --> 01:21:22.160 went through this as a group and the upside of that 1552 01:21:22.160 --> 01:21:24.760 is that they can support one another afterwards. 1553 01:21:24.760 --> 01:21:26.450 And one of the best predictors we have 1554 01:21:26.450 --> 01:21:30.220 for people being resilient to developing PTSD, 1555 01:21:30.220 --> 01:21:31.150 is social support. 1556 01:21:31.150 --> 01:21:36.150 It's one of the strongest predictors of not getting PTSD. 1557 01:21:36.250 --> 01:21:37.930 - [Ev Durán] Many victims of the Camp Fire 1558 01:21:37.930 --> 01:21:40.570 have found strength and solace in each other 1559 01:21:40.570 --> 01:21:43.030 aided by the largely unwavering social support 1560 01:21:43.030 --> 01:21:44.483 of neighboring communities. 1561 01:21:47.110 --> 01:21:52.110 - The surrounding community support was really amazing. 1562 01:21:52.420 --> 01:21:55.810 I mean, just all the free meals, free clothing, 1563 01:21:55.810 --> 01:21:57.540 so many donations that they literally 1564 01:21:57.540 --> 01:21:59.800 had to send donations back. 1565 01:21:59.800 --> 01:22:02.860 - If you go anywhere, if you talk to anyone that's not here, 1566 01:22:02.860 --> 01:22:05.703 they know what Paradise is and they have such empathy, 1567 01:22:05.703 --> 01:22:07.940 and they have such compassion. 1568 01:22:07.940 --> 01:22:11.050 People have given so much, so much, 1569 01:22:11.050 --> 01:22:12.500 I just can't even believe it. 1570 01:22:13.490 --> 01:22:15.390 - The people around here keep finding ways 1571 01:22:15.390 --> 01:22:16.550 to help each other out. 1572 01:22:16.550 --> 01:22:20.980 I'm just so proud of them and their resourcefulness, 1573 01:22:20.980 --> 01:22:24.160 the way they put things aside and they bring too much. 1574 01:22:24.160 --> 01:22:27.210 They were having to turn stuff away until later need 1575 01:22:27.210 --> 01:22:29.540 and the need it isn't just a one day, one week, 1576 01:22:29.540 --> 01:22:31.883 one month need as we see. 1577 01:22:33.110 --> 01:22:37.460 - We had a Thanksgiving with probably 60 people here 1578 01:22:37.460 --> 01:22:39.870 and they all, and the community, local 1579 01:22:39.870 --> 01:22:42.603 and extended community brought every bit of it. 1580 01:22:44.090 --> 01:22:49.090 So it's been really nice to see that people 1581 01:22:49.590 --> 01:22:51.393 will come together when it counts. 1582 01:22:52.300 --> 01:22:54.160 - We had a couple of big truckloads 1583 01:22:54.160 --> 01:22:55.973 of stuff come up from Vacaville. 1584 01:22:56.870 --> 01:22:59.960 Everything, just about all the clothes that I have, 1585 01:22:59.960 --> 01:23:02.040 all I had was what I had on. 1586 01:23:02.040 --> 01:23:06.696 And he's got more clothes than he's ever had at one time. 1587 01:23:06.696 --> 01:23:07.753 - Seems that way. 1588 01:23:09.170 --> 01:23:14.170 - It just, is mind blowing to me the level of support, 1589 01:23:14.760 --> 01:23:18.560 not only locally, but globally. 1590 01:23:18.560 --> 01:23:20.660 - [Ev Durán] As the story of Paradise began to spread 1591 01:23:20.660 --> 01:23:24.690 far and wide, our little town grew internationally famous. 1592 01:23:24.690 --> 01:23:27.350 And the generous spirit of total strangers from around 1593 01:23:27.350 --> 01:23:31.510 the world became the silver lining of this terrible tragedy. 1594 01:23:31.510 --> 01:23:34.350 The PHS baseball team was invited to play a game 1595 01:23:34.350 --> 01:23:37.083 on the same field as the San Francisco Giants. 1596 01:23:39.590 --> 01:23:41.470 The basketball teams were invited to watch 1597 01:23:41.470 --> 01:23:43.753 the Golden State Warriors up close. 1598 01:23:46.330 --> 01:23:49.520 And PHS football got an experience they'll never forget, 1599 01:23:49.520 --> 01:23:52.700 while visiting the San Francisco 49ers. 1600 01:23:52.700 --> 01:23:55.360 These are but a few of the examples of love 1601 01:23:55.360 --> 01:23:58.030 that was shared with Paradise. 1602 01:23:58.030 --> 01:24:00.100 - Rotary clubs all over the United States 1603 01:24:00.100 --> 01:24:04.940 are sending money, and it's just very encouraging 1604 01:24:04.940 --> 01:24:07.370 and it makes you feel really good about people. 1605 01:24:07.370 --> 01:24:10.110 - It restores your faith in humanity. 1606 01:24:10.110 --> 01:24:13.410 It's wonderful, the support that we've gotten, 1607 01:24:13.410 --> 01:24:16.500 not just locally with things like our Chamber, 1608 01:24:16.500 --> 01:24:19.670 pretty much taking in any business that wants to join now, 1609 01:24:19.670 --> 01:24:20.950 not even charging them 1610 01:24:20.950 --> 01:24:24.970 and doing this Ridge Rising campaign, that's fabulous, 1611 01:24:24.970 --> 01:24:27.640 to Chico providing us with offices 1612 01:24:27.640 --> 01:24:29.380 for three months I think. 1613 01:24:29.380 --> 01:24:32.320 To the ladies in Ireland who heard me on the news, 1614 01:24:32.320 --> 01:24:36.620 saying I really was so sad that I lost all my recipes, 1615 01:24:36.620 --> 01:24:39.003 and they sent me four cookbooks. 1616 01:24:39.950 --> 01:24:41.613 It's just all over the world. 1617 01:24:46.940 --> 01:24:48.020 - [Ev Durán] There's one more example 1618 01:24:48.020 --> 01:24:50.500 of the widespread generosity that the Mayor speaks of 1619 01:24:50.500 --> 01:24:52.050 that I'd like to share with you. 1620 01:24:52.050 --> 01:24:53.990 He's a man named Bob Wilson. 1621 01:24:53.990 --> 01:24:56.040 Like most people prior to the Camp Fire, 1622 01:24:56.040 --> 01:24:58.210 Bob had never even heard of Paradise. 1623 01:24:58.210 --> 01:25:00.350 You remember him from earlier? 1624 01:25:00.350 --> 01:25:02.600 - I knew nothing about Paradise, as a matter of fact, 1625 01:25:02.600 --> 01:25:04.860 I had to look it up on a map. 1626 01:25:04.860 --> 01:25:06.710 - [Ev Durán] When I visited Bob at his beautiful home 1627 01:25:06.710 --> 01:25:08.100 in Southern California, 1628 01:25:08.100 --> 01:25:10.270 I discovered that he is a prolific collector 1629 01:25:10.270 --> 01:25:13.290 of firefighter related keepsakes and memorabilia. 1630 01:25:13.290 --> 01:25:15.820 Which seems appropriate since he is now a hero 1631 01:25:15.820 --> 01:25:17.860 to countless victims of fire. 1632 01:25:17.860 --> 01:25:19.520 - I was reading the paper one morning 1633 01:25:19.520 --> 01:25:21.690 and there was an article. 1634 01:25:21.690 --> 01:25:25.710 This was a whole article about what these high school kids 1635 01:25:25.710 --> 01:25:28.690 would be missing as a result of the fire 1636 01:25:28.690 --> 01:25:32.433 and not being able to go back to Paradise High School. 1637 01:25:34.560 --> 01:25:37.970 For me, I got so much out of high school. 1638 01:25:37.970 --> 01:25:41.230 I really thought about these kids and the fact that 1639 01:25:41.230 --> 01:25:45.317 they were missing this particular episode in their life. 1640 01:25:45.317 --> 01:25:48.163 That's what prompted me to wanna do something. 1641 01:25:49.675 --> 01:25:53.430 I've always contended that good intentions, 1642 01:25:53.430 --> 01:25:57.560 unless acted upon are just good intentions. 1643 01:25:57.560 --> 01:26:00.320 So I decided I would act on this 1644 01:26:00.320 --> 01:26:05.320 and I decided to write a letter to the kids. 1645 01:26:06.260 --> 01:26:09.440 Then I thought, gee, I better put some substance behind it. 1646 01:26:09.440 --> 01:26:11.280 And the more I thought about it, I said, 1647 01:26:11.280 --> 01:26:12.220 I know what I'll do, 1648 01:26:12.220 --> 01:26:14.670 I'll just write a check for a thousand dollars 1649 01:26:14.670 --> 01:26:17.800 to each one, 980 kids. 1650 01:26:17.800 --> 01:26:19.140 - [Ev Durán] Yeah, you didn't mishear that, 1651 01:26:19.140 --> 01:26:22.000 980 kids times a thousand. 1652 01:26:22.000 --> 01:26:23.140 He also wrote checks to each 1653 01:26:23.140 --> 01:26:25.890 of the 105 staff members at PHS. 1654 01:26:25.890 --> 01:26:28.820 That's almost 1.1 million dollars given to people 1655 01:26:28.820 --> 01:26:31.320 in a town he had no prior connection to. 1656 01:26:31.320 --> 01:26:33.390 What'd I say? Hero. 1657 01:26:33.390 --> 01:26:36.230 - [Ev Durán] If you were invited back up for once 1658 01:26:36.230 --> 01:26:38.807 Paradise High School reopens, 1659 01:26:38.807 --> 01:26:41.460 would that'd be a trip that you would consider making? 1660 01:26:41.460 --> 01:26:43.580 - Well, as a matter of fact, I got a call 1661 01:26:43.580 --> 01:26:46.420 from the superintendent of schools. 1662 01:26:46.420 --> 01:26:49.910 She said, "we want you at the graduation." 1663 01:26:49.910 --> 01:26:53.177 And I had replied to her, 1664 01:26:53.177 --> 01:26:57.620 "look, even if you hadn't invited me, 1665 01:26:57.620 --> 01:26:59.520 I would have been at your graduation." 1666 01:27:01.053 --> 01:27:04.053 (fast upbeat music) 1667 01:27:09.830 --> 01:27:11.730 - [Ev Durán] As you can see, with the help of 1668 01:27:11.730 --> 01:27:13.920 countless volunteers from the community, 1669 01:27:13.920 --> 01:27:15.410 the school district was able to make 1670 01:27:15.410 --> 01:27:17.510 the campus safe and secure enough 1671 01:27:17.510 --> 01:27:20.290 to host the Paradise High School graduation. 1672 01:27:20.290 --> 01:27:22.190 The event drew a large crowd, 1673 01:27:22.190 --> 01:27:23.830 eager to celebrate the accomplishments 1674 01:27:23.830 --> 01:27:25.060 of these young people 1675 01:27:25.060 --> 01:27:27.523 and the continuing accomplishments of the town. 1676 01:27:35.669 --> 01:27:37.963 - Absolutely, absolutely. 1677 01:27:40.330 --> 01:27:42.300 I got this, this is gotta be your only picture 1678 01:27:42.300 --> 01:27:43.253 with a cop you got. 1679 01:27:45.450 --> 01:27:47.510 Hey, it's good seeing you, glad you're doing well. 1680 01:27:49.020 --> 01:27:52.370 - The reality of what has happened to us, 1681 01:27:52.370 --> 01:27:54.623 is that we will grieve forever. 1682 01:27:55.960 --> 01:27:59.280 We will not get over the loss of our community 1683 01:28:00.450 --> 01:28:02.150 but we will learn to live with it. 1684 01:28:03.480 --> 01:28:07.090 We will heal and we will rebuild ourselves 1685 01:28:07.090 --> 01:28:09.581 around the loss we have suffered. 1686 01:28:09.581 --> 01:28:13.414 (fast upbeat music continues) 1687 01:28:18.070 --> 01:28:21.880 - We will always carry a piece of PHS with us, 1688 01:28:21.880 --> 01:28:26.130 a memory of where we came from and what we overcame, 1689 01:28:26.130 --> 01:28:29.489 as we take off on our next great adventures. 1690 01:28:29.489 --> 01:28:32.239 (crowd chanting) 1691 01:28:37.064 --> 01:28:39.814 (crowd cheering) 1692 01:28:43.610 --> 01:28:44.673 - This is your night. 1693 01:28:45.760 --> 01:28:50.240 You are the ones to be commended for staying the course 1694 01:28:50.240 --> 01:28:53.364 despite the adversity that overtook your community. 1695 01:28:53.364 --> 01:28:56.114 (crowd cheering) 1696 01:29:02.410 --> 01:29:05.110 - You are the first generation of 1697 01:29:05.110 --> 01:29:07.860 Paradise High School graduates, 1698 01:29:07.860 --> 01:29:11.253 to rise from the ashes of what life was 1699 01:29:12.270 --> 01:29:16.703 and take a bold step forward into a new future. 1700 01:29:16.703 --> 01:29:19.041 - [Announcer] It is with great honor that we present 1701 01:29:19.041 --> 01:29:23.208 the Paradise High School graduating class of 2019. 1702 01:29:24.469 --> 01:29:27.036 You may now move your tassels to the left side 1703 01:29:27.036 --> 01:29:28.702 of your cap (indistinct) 1704 01:29:28.702 --> 01:29:31.027 (large crowd cheering) 1705 01:29:31.027 --> 01:29:33.777 (crowd clapping) 1706 01:29:41.450 --> 01:29:42.283 - We did it bro. 1707 01:29:42.283 --> 01:29:43.116 - We did it. 1708 01:29:43.116 --> 01:29:43.949 - Ben? 1709 01:29:43.949 --> 01:29:44.782 - Ben. 1710 01:29:44.782 --> 01:29:45.615 - He wanted to meet you, can we do a picture? 1711 01:29:45.615 --> 01:29:47.403 - Oh, I'd love to do a picture yeah, absolutely. 1712 01:29:48.390 --> 01:29:49.550 - How was graduation? 1713 01:29:49.550 --> 01:29:51.290 It was the best. 1714 01:29:51.290 --> 01:29:52.983 It was absolutely the best. 1715 01:29:56.450 --> 01:29:57.450 - Don't look at Ev's. 1716 01:30:00.620 --> 01:30:03.270 - [Ev Durán] Where do you think we are as a town? 1717 01:30:03.270 --> 01:30:05.170 Looking back at what happened 1718 01:30:05.170 --> 01:30:07.213 and sort of looking forward as well, 1719 01:30:08.715 --> 01:30:10.320 what have you learned? 1720 01:30:10.320 --> 01:30:12.083 What has the town learned? 1721 01:30:13.000 --> 01:30:15.260 - Well, I'm actually glad this happened 1722 01:30:15.260 --> 01:30:17.960 that I'm able to talk to you today because last night, 1723 01:30:19.220 --> 01:30:22.750 you and I were both at the high school graduation, 1724 01:30:22.750 --> 01:30:23.800 Paradise High School. 1725 01:30:25.020 --> 01:30:26.420 And that gave me great hope. 1726 01:30:27.270 --> 01:30:29.510 When I heard the words from the student speakers, 1727 01:30:29.510 --> 01:30:31.130 it was powerful. 1728 01:30:31.130 --> 01:30:33.540 And it was the words that, 1729 01:30:33.540 --> 01:30:35.020 there's a bunch of people in this town 1730 01:30:35.020 --> 01:30:40.020 that are working every day to bring back our community. 1731 01:30:40.210 --> 01:30:43.520 They're out there grinding every day, 1732 01:30:43.520 --> 01:30:45.730 and they're making a difference. 1733 01:30:45.730 --> 01:30:48.370 Because of that spirit I saw last night, 1734 01:30:48.370 --> 01:30:50.910 and because that spirit of these people that I know 1735 01:30:50.910 --> 01:30:54.020 that are working with the town, working with the county, 1736 01:30:54.020 --> 01:30:57.420 working with fellow residents to make it happen, 1737 01:30:57.420 --> 01:31:00.040 I have great faith in the resilience of the community. 1738 01:31:00.040 --> 01:31:03.160 We're going to rebuild, hopefully in the long run, 1739 01:31:03.160 --> 01:31:06.010 we can make an even better place than it was before. 1740 01:31:06.010 --> 01:31:09.400 But we have a long road, this is a marathon, not a sprint, 1741 01:31:09.400 --> 01:31:12.467 but we have the people here that can make that happen. 1742 01:31:12.467 --> 01:31:15.310 And I truly believe in the spirit of this community. 1743 01:31:15.310 --> 01:31:17.900 Paradise Strong, it's been said a lot, 1744 01:31:17.900 --> 01:31:20.550 but the spirit of this community is, 1745 01:31:20.550 --> 01:31:23.200 a depth that I don't think we'll reach the bottom of. 1746 01:31:26.860 --> 01:31:30.790 - Now we're at the point where all of these things that 1747 01:31:30.790 --> 01:31:35.690 you never thought would be impacted by this fire, 1748 01:31:35.690 --> 01:31:36.590 have been impacted. 1749 01:31:36.590 --> 01:31:38.743 And life is just so much more complicated. 1750 01:31:39.770 --> 01:31:43.030 It sounds cliche to say that the world changed, 1751 01:31:43.030 --> 01:31:48.030 but the world changed. When Paradise and Magalia and Concow 1752 01:31:48.457 --> 01:31:51.083 and all those other communities that were, 1753 01:31:52.970 --> 01:31:56.430 burned through, come back. 1754 01:31:56.430 --> 01:31:59.250 I know they'll come back eventually, 1755 01:31:59.250 --> 01:32:00.483 but it won't be the same, 1756 01:32:00.483 --> 01:32:03.030 there's just no way it can be the same. 1757 01:32:03.030 --> 01:32:05.380 But that's not to say that what we have 1758 01:32:05.380 --> 01:32:06.910 or what we will be able to do, 1759 01:32:06.910 --> 01:32:08.993 won't be great in its own right. 1760 01:32:13.870 --> 01:32:15.970 - People come here, they don't really wanna leave. 1761 01:32:15.970 --> 01:32:17.160 Even having lost their home, 1762 01:32:17.160 --> 01:32:20.900 even not knowing how certain the future might be, 1763 01:32:20.900 --> 01:32:22.200 they wanna be in Paradise. 1764 01:32:23.766 --> 01:32:26.610 They're gonna work that out here, not somewhere else, 1765 01:32:26.610 --> 01:32:29.903 and I really admire that spirit and that love of Paradise. 1766 01:32:37.560 --> 01:32:40.350 - I wanna see my family remain in Paradise 1767 01:32:40.350 --> 01:32:43.503 and I want to watch Paradise rebuild. 1768 01:32:46.440 --> 01:32:51.283 - Life is always in flux, it always changes, 1769 01:32:52.490 --> 01:32:56.453 and what you do with that, defines who you are as a person. 1770 01:32:59.720 --> 01:33:01.900 We've reinvented ourselves down here in Chico, 1771 01:33:01.900 --> 01:33:03.530 until we can get back up into Paradise, 1772 01:33:03.530 --> 01:33:06.023 and it's gonna be a lot of fun. 1773 01:33:07.140 --> 01:33:09.080 - It'll be the things that attracted us here 1774 01:33:09.080 --> 01:33:09.913 in the first place. 1775 01:33:09.913 --> 01:33:12.200 It still be, they'll be back. 1776 01:33:12.200 --> 01:33:15.290 The slower pace of life, the friendliness, 1777 01:33:15.290 --> 01:33:17.370 all the volunteerism in this community, 1778 01:33:17.370 --> 01:33:20.136 it's tons of people getting involved in making 1779 01:33:20.136 --> 01:33:21.920 this community a better place, 1780 01:33:21.920 --> 01:33:23.590 and all those things will be remembered, 1781 01:33:23.590 --> 01:33:26.270 and it'll be a driving force to bring people back. 1782 01:33:26.270 --> 01:33:27.843 They're going to want that again. 1783 01:33:30.070 --> 01:33:32.507 - We're pioneers, we're starting all over 1784 01:33:32.507 --> 01:33:34.920 and just like some of the names you'd see down 1785 01:33:34.920 --> 01:33:37.883 at the museum that were the first ones to come up. 1786 01:33:39.480 --> 01:33:41.800 That's us, it's our time. 1787 01:33:41.800 --> 01:33:42.870 It's why we need to engage, 1788 01:33:42.870 --> 01:33:46.207 we need to be involved and love on your community, 1789 01:33:46.207 --> 01:33:48.310 and the people that are here. 1790 01:33:48.310 --> 01:33:51.530 - Paradise is a very resilient and strong town, 1791 01:33:51.530 --> 01:33:53.960 and there's a lot that don't wanna leave that hill. 1792 01:33:53.960 --> 01:33:56.210 And they're gonna do whatever they have to, 1793 01:33:56.210 --> 01:33:58.360 to be able to rebuild and live there again. 1794 01:34:06.197 --> 01:34:08.120 - And I always kind of approach things from here 1795 01:34:08.120 --> 01:34:10.060 because I'm trying to envision, 1796 01:34:10.060 --> 01:34:14.180 how is it going to be to walk into the house? 1797 01:34:14.180 --> 01:34:17.000 So the beginning, here's the beginnings of the new house, 1798 01:34:17.000 --> 01:34:20.843 but here's the thing that just, I love. 1799 01:34:24.165 --> 01:34:26.265 In the whole backyard, we had a lawn, deck 1800 01:34:28.310 --> 01:34:31.390 and kind of a walkway Jim and I had put in, 1801 01:34:31.390 --> 01:34:36.390 and at this end of it, we had this small grove of bamboo. 1802 01:34:39.327 --> 01:34:42.110 Here's the bamboo. 1803 01:34:42.110 --> 01:34:47.110 It's like, it's been through fire, construction, bulldozers, 1804 01:34:49.700 --> 01:34:53.803 I mean the lot's been scraped clean, soil compacted, 1805 01:34:55.110 --> 01:34:57.190 and here's this dang bamboo coming up. 1806 01:34:57.190 --> 01:35:00.530 And I check on it every time, 'cause I just feel like, 1807 01:35:00.530 --> 01:35:04.103 Oh my gosh, it survived. 1808 01:35:10.650 --> 01:35:11.663 - [Ev Durán] Is there anything else I didn't ask you? 1809 01:35:11.663 --> 01:35:13.140 Did I miss anything that you wanna say? 1810 01:35:13.140 --> 01:35:14.300 - No, I don't think so. 1811 01:35:14.300 --> 01:35:16.810 - [Ev Durán] Nobody ever says yes, to that last question. 1812 01:35:16.810 --> 01:35:18.400 Nobody goes, yeah, yeah I got more stuff. 1813 01:35:18.400 --> 01:35:19.313 - No, I'm good. 1814 01:35:19.313 --> 01:35:20.469 - Nah, I don't know. 1815 01:35:20.469 --> 01:35:21.616 - I don't think so. 1816 01:35:21.616 --> 01:35:22.510 - I don't think so. 1817 01:35:22.510 --> 01:35:23.950 - No, I think you've covered it. 1818 01:35:23.950 --> 01:35:26.030 - [Ev Durán] Is there anything else you guys wanna add, 1819 01:35:26.030 --> 01:35:27.815 that I didn't ask you? 1820 01:35:27.815 --> 01:35:30.648 Anything you want people to know? 1821 01:35:33.130 --> 01:35:36.749 - That I do believe that there are people that, 1822 01:35:36.749 --> 01:35:41.230 and I know actually that there are people who have struggled 1823 01:35:41.230 --> 01:35:46.140 way harder and that I would like to help them. 1824 01:35:46.140 --> 01:35:50.673 And that we're just one of many people who have survived. 1825 01:35:53.080 --> 01:35:56.030 Our story was about just like the average of anybody. 1826 01:35:56.030 --> 01:36:00.010 Anybody could have been in our shoes. 1827 01:36:00.010 --> 01:36:05.010 Even though we were really close and a lot of people 1828 01:36:05.460 --> 01:36:07.020 went through what we went through. 1829 01:36:07.020 --> 01:36:08.940 And, but there are some people 1830 01:36:08.940 --> 01:36:10.170 who went through harder things 1831 01:36:10.170 --> 01:36:15.170 and I think that they should just, I wanna help them. 1832 01:36:16.887 --> 01:36:20.304 (fast upbeat rock music) 1833 01:36:24.630 --> 01:36:25.463 - [Ev Durán] But you know I didn't forget 1834 01:36:25.463 --> 01:36:26.733 about the football team. 1835 01:36:27.779 --> 01:36:32.029 (fast upbeat rock music continues) 1836 01:36:37.462 --> 01:36:40.136 - Hey, it's called nerves, 1837 01:36:40.136 --> 01:36:42.069 because you've been pissed off 1838 01:36:42.069 --> 01:36:43.970 for ten months! 1839 01:36:43.970 --> 01:36:46.037 Now you get to take it out. 1840 01:36:47.027 --> 01:36:50.194 Everybody heal tonight, play football. 1841 01:36:56.555 --> 01:36:59.240 Get down there, you have a crowd that loves you 1842 01:36:59.240 --> 01:37:00.870 and you're gonna be inspired by it. 1843 01:37:00.870 --> 01:37:02.430 You're all gonna be healed right now, 1844 01:37:02.430 --> 01:37:04.590 by getting down there, and kicking some butt. 1845 01:37:04.590 --> 01:37:05.423 Are you ready? 1846 01:37:05.423 --> 01:37:06.256 - Yes coach. 1847 01:37:07.318 --> 01:37:09.480 We win as brothers, we lose as brothers, 1848 01:37:09.480 --> 01:37:10.473 let's get it done, 1849 01:37:10.473 --> 01:37:11.996 Hey, brothers to the bone on three, 1850 01:37:11.996 --> 01:37:12.920 one, two, three. 1851 01:37:12.920 --> 01:37:15.660 - Brothers to the bone, wohoo. 1852 01:37:15.660 --> 01:37:19.910 (fast upbeat rock music continues) 1853 01:38:21.758 --> 01:38:25.675 - [Announcer] Lucas Hartley, touchdown Paradise.