Five years ago this week, the Camp Fire roared through Butte County, California, torching the town of Paradise and killing 85 people in its path, becoming the deadliest wildfire in California’s recorded history.
The anniversary of the fire, which ignited the morning of November 8, 2018, has prompted many in Butte County to reflect on strategies for avoiding deadly wildfires in the future.
Kyle Mason lived in Paradise when the Camp Fire occurred. Now he is learning about fire resilience, and helping use fire to make Butte County forests healthier. The Lookout caught up with him on a landowner burn near Forest Ranch.
Nate Dailey was a senior at Paradise High School when the Camp Fire burned. He and his family had a harrowing evacuation through active fire. Five years later, he has a degree in computer science, and is working for Deer Creek Resources developing tools to map wildfire fuels.
How did the Camp Fire grow so quickly? We tell the story through images in our recent post: Exploring the Conditions that Led to the Camp Fire, Five Years Later