A High and Awful Price: Lessons Learned From the Camp Fire

[@RouxsTube]

3.5 years later and still nothing is "normal" here. Paradise and Magalia are slowly recovering still but not as fast as one might have thought is would. (I don't know how Concow is faring) One thing to take away from all of this is you are indeed ultimately responsible for your own outcome. No amount of preparation, first responders or LEO's are out there to come save every single person in a disaster like this was. Prepare to be on your own to get yourself out and make your own escape. You need to learn to prepare for yourself to be your own savior. Still so many believe the cavalry will come and save you. They will if they can... and sometimes? that just is impossible. Thank you for this beautiful video. Very well done and I hope more people watch it and realize... it can happen to you. To my fellow CampFire Survivors... I hope you are doing well

[@Buasop]

This is a great documentary. I just moved to Paradise from New Orleans. I grew up in Sacramento and knew Paradise before the fire. After 7 years of dodging hurricanes, I moved to another place where havoc strikes, lol. I live in a condo complex that survived the fire with the exception of 2 joined units. A burning tree from another property fell onto the roof. The reasons why this complex survived were how it was built and how it was landscaped. Stucco walls, soffit, facia, screened rain gutters, composition roofs, and sparse landscaping. This place was designed to survive. With all the new houses going up throughout Paradise, I hope the builders use these practices to lower the risk for all of us. Rebuild with survivability at the forefront

[@JustWanderingBy]

I don’t know if you are still reading these comments, but I just want to thank you for making this documentary. I’m a grad student finishing a capstone project on wildfire response in rural Utah cabin areas and am designing a tabletop exercise scenario based on Paradise. Your video is one of the best resources I’ve come across during the process.

[@amartinez5326]

I would love to read about your capstone project if you ever publish it!!

[@bogwin9621]

I’ve evacuated fire in Yellowstone 1988, and two fires in New Mexico. I’m not excited about it anymore. We live able to grab lock and leave. Fortunately the two local fires have removed fuel. I can grab the things that make life easier and be ready to roll in five minutes. I have water filters, food, tents, backpacks, footwear, clothes for me and my family. I’m not a prepared freak but the usefulness of knowing what to do so the home and family can sit and relax tell it’s time to run is very useful.

[@TexasStormChaser69schann-od9rm]

This documentary is incredible, not just for its insanely good production quality, but for an angle and perspective at such a scope that I’d never considered. Good heavens…this documentary should have received numerous awards. SO well done, SO well produced, SO emotional. It’s nothing short of spectacular in its eye-opening depth.

[@dastrnad]

Agreed.

[@gregwilson3609]

Yes I am a campfire survivor. I managed to get out of the fire driving an RV with no idea why I was driving an RV not even thinking that I would possibly have to live in it for a time until I went back home to my residence. Now it has been 17 months since the fire and I still have emotional bouts because of the fire. I lost everything but at least I got out. I have gone back to Paradise and the average of every two weeks. The final two weeks I went around all of the neighborhoods where fireplaces were the only thing standing and took pictures of that. And put that on a disk and titled it Paradise remembered. I hope if the Golden Nugget museum is rebuilt they will use my disk as a memory of what was left after the fire. Although I have been working towards getting set up to rebuild in paradise I still have terrible memories when I’m sleep at night trying to escape the fire. I left After helping my neighbor put out the grass fire in front of his house only to see the fire spread to the next lot and the next house. I think it’s wonderful that this gentleman has produced this film but it takes me back to the day of the fire something I will never forget.

[@tedhibbard6320]

I lost everything in the pheonix oregon fire.You people had it worse then us.I almost jumped off the freeway overpass to end my hell.

[@tphilipson9991]

@greg Wilson... I too am a campfire Survivor I live in Magalia get tiny portion that didn't burn. We are all scarred forever and we don't have PTSD because the fire is everyday. It's a very difficult place to live now I'm 53 I came for the town that burned down and it's gone forever. A lot of the trees are dying Big Sugar Pine should a hundred and twenty feet tall completely dead trees breaking off at the ground that was a huge tree 3-foot diameter at the base and it just fell over. I just went out in a whole branch of my nectarine tree just broke off dead. There has been a never-ending work scraping the ground down to the ground again because you everything is contaminated. But I thought about moving to Alturas 1st December of 2018 and I'm glad I didn't because of of de virus. There's a lot of newcomers and lot of buildings but they're still an old core the sensation of community that was never there before Realty not like this. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to watch this video and I rarely comment but I saw your post and decided to answer

[@tedhibbard6320]

@@tphilipson9991 The fire gave me a major beat down.Its been 5 months but I'm feeling better and so happy I did not jump off the overpass.The hell and pain is starting to fade and I'm starting to rebuild.Dame I drank like a fish drunk all the time.But I quit drinking 3 weeks ago.I meet someone who lost all in the paradise cal.fire.That disaster was the worst of all disasters.Im going to volunteer with Red Cross to help in future fires that are going to happen.Im climbing out of this hell hole.

[@tphilipson9991]

@@tedhibbard6320 dude you are not the only one drinking. After Rite Aid reopened and Save Mor everybody was drinking... and with the virus or still drinking like you I managed to stop cuz it wasn't helping anymore I'm glad I didn't move I couldn't leave the place can you believe that I spent five days stranded up here all alone with an emergency radio when I saw what I've been listening to well I'm only just starting to talk about it

[@tedhibbard6320]

@@tphilipson9991 Yes the pheonix fire beat the hell out of me but I meet a paradise fire survivor and his hell was way worse.Still not drinking and rebuilding my life.Im feeling hopeful.

[@mikecallahan8234]

As was said in another video on the Camp Fire, "the only person that can craft an evacuation plan for you, is you". I have had to go through circumstances where the only help was self help because there was simply no one else. Thank you for this video.

[@ericainncca9771]

I live about 60 miles from Paradise. During the Camp Fire there were ashes falling on our cars. I try to watch all of the documentaries, videos, and stories about the Camp Fire. I appreciate the format and purpose of this video. It is set up to help people know they need to be prepared. It is indeed easy for people to say what should have been done. I've seen that in the comments of other videos. In my opinion so many things, and systems went wrong during this fire. No one could have predicted just how bad it would be because everything that could go bad did, essentially forming the "perfect storm". The people of Paradise who helped their neighbors and all of the first responders are true heroes! I don't think most communities (of 52,000 people) would be able to stay calm in that situation! Look how many of us lose it in traffic when we aren't running from flames! Thank you!

[@kristinebeltran4219]

Thank you for this video! The lessons were laid out in a manner that anyone who watches it will easily be able to understand and apply to their own families and communities. Sadly, as the title states, these lessons came at a high and awful price. My uncle's brother was a collateral casualty of the Camp Fire. He didn't die the day of the fire but several months later due to health complications related to the exposure and inhalation of the heavy smoke during the evacuation. This video and the lessons learned that day are a testament that his life, and the lives of the many others who perished, were not lost in vain. Their legacy and love for Paradise and its surrounding communities will live on and become part of the fabric of communities across the world.

[@patroberts5449]

I remember hearing of a good suggestion from the awful Katrina disaster. They said you should prepare ahead and send a packet of all your important documents to a trustworthy person who lives in another area far away enough where they should not be affected by the same disaster. I did that and it just kind of gives you a little bit more sense of control or safety in that awful scenario that like which happened in the camp fire. I hope there is healing for all and that includes our 2 nephews and their families in Paradise who have dug in and chose to rebuild. Strength and courage to you all. Thank you for all the professionals too!

[@aleafox1675]

Really a good idea!

[@donaldmorrison9940]

Thank you for taking the time to make this high-quality, well-constructed and extremely informative documentary. It's hard to believe we're getting quality like this for free on KZbin.

[@UTubeQu1che551]

An absolutely excellent video. The “Lessons Learned” segment was especially valuable. The video was well balanced between facts and the emotional trauma felt by the professional responders, care givers and public servants. Thank you.

[@janiceheld6594]

I watched this for the first time today. I am so impressed with the professionalism this production has. The information proved by the people who handled the situation is outstanding. I truly hope that all the information your production provide is used in more rural areas who are subject to fires.

[@eyeofearth2513]

Concow Camp Fire survivor here. Notifications are great IF you have cell service in your area. Many rural areas still don't have service or don't have adequate service nearly 3 years later. Our fire departments need emergency alarms, like tsunami alarms, so we can hear them throughout the area.

[@Dreadz530]

You need to sign up for alert Fm and get a box. If you are areas with bad service you get them free. They run off radio waves so you get your alerts even without a cell phone. Any emergency alert that would go to a phone comes over the box and it’s just hooked up 24/7 so even at night when you don’t have a TV on you won’t miss emergency broadcasts

[@WBCHelpSaint]

Thank you for putting this together. While I no longer lived in Paradise at the time of the Camp Fire, I grew up there and still had friends there. I was following along as best I could remotely the day of the fire and it wasnt real to me until I saw a video of someone driving down Clark Road on their way out of town and I saw where I went to school and church growing up and it was completely gone. It was at that point that I just started bawling because my childhood town was gone. Thankfully all my friends were able to get out and only lost property.

[@devonataylor6549]

Communication! I was in the camp fire as well and in the 2008 fire. I worked at a major facility and ended up transfering. I now sit on different disaster planning sessions and weigh in on emergency plans and one thing I try to get across everytime is communication. It is so important to have multiple ways of communication and to not put all your weight on one source or one plan. Unfortunately I oftentimes feel that those concerns are pushed aside in place of other planning. Its hard to explain the importance and the affect of not having multiple plans for communication to people who have never had to lose all communication during a disaster. So if you are watching this and you are also a disaster planner please take to heart the communication lessons in this video.

[@EmpathyMattersforEveryone]

I miss seeing our baseball games!! My daughter's play softball!

[@Starrydraws]

I've lived in California my whole life though I've not experienced many life threatening fires for my area but I've seen part of my county burned, known people who had to leave home from it. I watch these to inform myself and what to do if there is a situation like this. While I know the chances are slim but it doesn't hurt to be prepared for these situation. Knowing what happened in the past helps for future purposes

[@carln6ckv8]

Just forwarded it to my ARES group, my local fire chief, my contact at county OES, and the emergency preparedness manager at my local hospital, Was going to forward it to Alan Thompson, but I see he has already seen it. I second Alan's good job.

[@Towing417]

This is why I carry a scanner with me during the summer time. I live 44 miles south east of paradise. We also have limited access with dense population. Nevada county has been continuously improving their disaster preparedness as well as emergency notifications. I believe that they are doing an excellent job. yet I have made all my plans on the assumption that I will receive zero warning and zero outside help. The scanner gives me information in realtime like no other source can. If there's a fire, I know about it at the same time the firefighters know. We have planned for many scenarios, this film brings to light how likely those plans are to not go perfectly.

[@babybrat2958]

i also carry a scanner with me....very good piece of equipment tohave.

[@maxsmith695]

Thankfully Nevada county has escaped the devastation of the DEW fires that took off in the north, east and south. Hopefully the DEW arsonists dont destroy Nevada County.

[@ericainncca9771]

@@maxsmith695maybe I should know this but what does DEW mean?

[@richardgonzales5709]

This information is extremely important and Valuable as a hopefully candidate for the incredible VENTURA TRAINING CENTER , CAMARILLO CA.I really enjoyed this documentary.Thank you.

[@dalesnale]

Thank you Chris for this in depth look at the Campfire- pre, post and continuing. May this information and the lessons help residents, citizens and agencies better prepare in the future.

[@UncoordinatedPixie]

I am so sorry you and everyone else had to go thru this. Fire is the one thing that scares the absolute shit out of me bc of the power behind it. This was a Very well done documentary.

[@brianogram5194]

This is great information for ARES. I forwarded it to all of my ARES compatriots. Thanks for putting this together, it's truly an amazing job.

[@suzannepatterson5548]

I am a survivor of the April 27, 2011 tornadoes. My home in in central Alabama. My town was severely hit. I understand the shock, devastation, heartbreak and grief. I understand how much it takes to rebuild. My heart goes out to the people of Paradise.

[@AlanFoothillsAV]

Chris, thanks so much for putting this together. I'm recommending your excellent video as "Required Viewing" to all my friends and colleagues. I was in Paradise and Magalia 10 days after the Camp Fire to restore cell phone service. What I saw and learned there turned me into an "Accidental Activist" for disaster communications safety. I've now given over 50 presentations throughout Northern California on this subject, and your video covers it all so much better than I ever could. Here in El Dorado County, our Amateur Radio Club is working to implement Citizens' Community Radio systems to help people stay safer in the event of communications failures that now seem inevitable in the face of these disasters. Good Job, Chris. - Alan Thompson.

[@KPB0853]

I don't think anybody will ask me, "how you can sleep with all those radios going?" ever again. My FT 2900 and the old TS 430 was the first things I loaded up when I evacuated. Communications are vital.

[@aleafox1675]

Wish I had a HAMM radio or something. All I have is a mobile phone.

[@suzannepatterson5548]

I am a survivor of the April 27, 2011 tornadoes. My home in in central Alabama. My town was severely hit. I understand the shock, devastation, heartbreak and grief. I understand how much it takes to rebuild.

[@elizabethpinkerton9866]

I live in NSW Australia we have already had our first summer fire and the bush is very dry. Were I live we havent had rain for a long time. After the major fires here a few years ago where the rain forest burnt. This year looks just as bad, I agree you have to be ablle to look after yourself and organise yourself. Have a bag with all important papers and things for pets. I believe get out early is the way you save yourself. I hope this year comeing is a better one for you.

[@cntslesfabrication]

You did a fantastic job going through this whole disaster and explain how and what you need to do or expect 24/7/365

[@suziegiggles8589]

great job with the video, thanks

[@MetalBaller83]

I live in Colorado, and as a wildland fire enthusiast (definitely not a firefighter) I've watched several major wildfires in real-time through every source available. I remember watching the South Canyon Fire, and more recently the Hayman Fire, the fires in Waldo Canyon, Black Forest, and the East Troublesome Fire up at Grand Lake. I have to say; the Carr and Camp Fires are definitely some of the most terrifying wildfires I've ever seen. Wildland fires that become urban conflagrations like the Camp, Carr, and Waldo Canyon fires are especially terrifying because it's literally burning down entire neighborhoods; not unlike the one I live in. To the survivors of these horrific events, my heart and prayers go out to you.

[@maxsmith695]

DEW fires are indeed terrifying. I personally know firefighters who are worried about 2022. Why? Because places that do not ever burn, until late in the fire season, are burning in Early February, and there is literally no logically reason for it. I am referring to areas in CALIF.

[@leanneadams2549]

I’m from no where near that fire but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel awfully bad for these people ! I’m sure some are still struggling and I’m here to say I have forgotten you and still pray and donate !! Some day we will be in a place fire will never reach. Until then…. ❤️🙏💪💯

[@cherylhayes75]

I’m in awe of this work you have done on this video. As a nurse working in a hospital, disaster drills and evacuation plans are part of our continual education. But what you have provided is a most in-depth look and process of disaster preparedness. This maybe about a fire but these lessons are for any type of disaster whether outdoors or indoors. And as seen through the unfortunate events of the Camp Fire, preparedness can never over come circumstances but preparedness can give a basis for the dealing with the unexpected circumstances.

[@cheritoms4040]

Looks so much like Hawaii

[@SweetT77777]

Great video for disaster preparedness lessons. Your team did a great job of handling an unprecedented disaster on the fly like that. And you're right, not every disaster can be planned for. But whatever happened to teaching disaster preparedness for families? I remember that being a HUGE teaching point during my K-12 school days. Have numbers available for emergency agencies (if an isolated or small scale incident), have meds, clothes, supplies available, etc for disasters you can expect in your area.

[@patroberts5449]

Yes I agree! You have to own your safety! Daily stuff like Stay away from cliffs, stay away from riptides, batteries in smoke alarms, gas up your car, don’t blow off fireworks illegally, lock up guns etc and then the big stuff get a go bag, talk to family about plans, know the vulnerable in your neighborhood and have a plan to take care of yourself for several days. Good luck everyone!

[@kalikonnekt5686]

Jeff Marcus was such an amazing asset to paradise unified school district! He is truly missed since re-entering his retirement.

[@devinmanderson]

Great video for every bad day there is a good lesson to learn from in there...btw HAM radios are very helpful. In this digital world we are very dependent on systems that can be taken offline very quickly.

[@barbarabowen5422]

Thank you for the video, and all my respect to the first respsonders. Reality I did not receive a evacuation warning or order. One of the men in the video mentioned being stuck on Pearson Road. That is where i was as well.. stuck. It is to my understanding that some people called 911 reporting fire in Paradise and were being told there was not a fire in Paradise. I know they released the 911 calls but i could not listen to them.. just too much. Im a 29 year resident of Paradise. Im not bashing on the 911 calls but just reality.

[@notthatdonald1385]

Well said. There are videos where many people videotaped, and spoke about gridlock. Also a bulldozer pushing burned cars off the road. Still, do not even wait to be told to evacuate Use your head!

[@stephenclifton427]

Fire department.🚒🚑.fire.ems.up.👨🏻‍🚒

[@nine7295]

Another documentary on KZbin interviewed a victim's family and they said that they didn't receive the notification on their phones. The documentary further claimed that the local authority didn't use other means of notifications, such as the emergency notification system that the federal govt has, (probably through cellular emergency alert system), or other means. Their mother died in the incident because she was reluctant to leave, and the family blamed that they were ingrained to wait for their zone to be called,because they shouldn't evacuate otherwise. There is a failure in the alerting method, and there is a failure in not having a plan if more residents need to evacuate at the same time. This doc glossed over these failures, and an official boasted that they are the best prepared local authority there had been. I am involved in this field and I beg to differ. I will remain anonymous as it's a small industry. But it still shocks me that even after 85 people had died, nobody needs to be held accountable.

[@jamienleah732]

Thank you every one on this video for your service..

[@c8Lorraine1]

Australians remember our summer 2019. 13 billion hectares of land destroyed, 2 trillion animals perished. The area and losses larger than twice the size of Belgium. This video has a lot of good advice. Not sure if it would have helped our disaster that year, but preparing to leave is essential. Law has been passed people MUST evacuate areas under threat. All people have a government app which the fire service uses to track the fire and get the evacuation word out to the community

[@dorothydromgoole8040]

How is Paradise now? I pray 🙏 all of the people who were displaced are coming back? I hope that it is coming back from the Camp Fire. Love from Marysville, California

[@The01audi]

I was a lowboy for BOTH, was supposed to be a lowboy for the camp fire too, but was too far away and the fire was too intense. I was asked to mobilize, then SHORTLY after, informed of the situation amd told to stand down til further notice

[@SkylinersYeti]

Very well done. I live in a wildland urban area. Be Prepared is the Boy Scout motto. I attempt continually work to maintain a defensible space around my home. It is not a one time job. I agree I must be responsible for myself and my family's welfare and not expect others to jump in and save us. . This helps me to fine tune my plans for the future. Thank you.

[@kentvene.454]

It takes so much longer for fires to spread here in Maine for example. There was a very terrible fire that kind of reminded me of this back in the late 1940s in Mount desert island Maine which is a large island with roughly eight or nine towns on it so we're talking about a very large island with a national park on it as well little towns tucked away in coves by the ocean and also in the center of the island and sparsely populated areas in between. In that fire the problem was that there was a horrible drought and then a fire and there's only one way to get off the island besides by boat which is the route one bridge and it became congested it became impossible and blocked off by fire the only way off the island was to jump into the freezing North Atlantic which is normally about right around freezing temperature throughout most of the year if you jump in the water and stay in for any protracted period of time you will die hypothermia pretty quickly so jumping in the ocean was not an option it's like they had a choice between burning to death or freezing to death. My ex's grandparents told us the story about how they save their house by opening hoses and saturating the ground around their house as well as their house itself to slow the spread of the fire and to hopefully keep it from burning the house and it was saved. But the entire town of bar harbor was destroyed as was other towns on the island that had to be rebuilt and it's eight towns so it's not just tiny places it's considerable communities. I think it started in a national park and it swept down the mountains like Cadillac mountain and others and right into bar harbor forcing people to evacuate at first by the bridge and then when the bridge became blocked off I think what I was told was fishing vessels had to serve as rescue vessels running back and forth from the Port of bar harbor to the mainland and then back to get more people kind of like the Titanic of fires because fishing boats in Maine are not intended to carry a lot of people they're small fishing vessels manned by three people with enough space for lobster traps things of that nature and there is now shipping lanes offshore but they don't cross the barrier islands. I wish they would do a documentary about the bar harbor fire. This kind of seems like that the campfire happened to an isolated mountain community and the bar harbor fire happened to several communities that just happened to be on an island with only a two-lane bridge still to this day being the only way on and off the island and being surrounded by the North Atlantic Waters which are not swimming Waters even at the best times of the year. I was told that people even were jumping into the water and dying in the water from hypothermia but they were jumping into the water anyway even though they knew they would die. And the fishing vessels being lifeboats so to speak there weren't enough of them. I suppose they could have called in help from large freighters and passenger liners that come close maybe 20 nautical miles from the island but that did not happen and a lot of Mount desert island was destroyed. Beautiful estates mansions as well as hard-working locals homes were just destroyed wiped off the face of the Earth. It's also ironic and maybe interesting that the name of Paradise California is similar to bar harbor in a way because bar harbor used to be called Eden named after the garden of Eden for how beautiful it is I guess both cases for a case of Paradise Lost.

[@donnamarie4443]

Another excellent upload on fires🔥 and how to successfully get through the devastation. Excellent upload, God bless you Chris 👍. Thanks 👍.

[@donniebrasco11]

This is underrated as hell, greatly done 👍

[@Just2Brothershl1314]

I lived in thousand oaks ca. the night before the borderline shooting had a occurred. I woke up that day and it was already surreal. I remember I thought I read the news headline wrong. Little did Ik what was happen later. I went to school and since I was so overwhelmed with emotion, I left at lunch. Then when I woke up from a nap after I got home I saw on the news that the woolsey fire had started near simi valley. And then they switched to footage of the camp fire which already had burned down paradise. And I was shocked. Never seen a fire completely destroy a town like that. The woolsey fire eventually burned 30 miles in 6-7 hours which is extremely fast for a fire. I remember my mom woke me up at 2 am saying we need to leave pack a bag I can see the flames topping the mountain from our balcony from our apartment. We left and drove to family near the ocean. And she had a balcony that faced the ocean so you could literally see the entire fire burn towards the ocean through Malibu. It was crazy and surreal couple of days. We had that entire month off school because they had to change all the air filters in our school ac system.

[@edsonmoody3979]

"I am very sorry for the Familys and pets in Paradise; This was a very good Documentary the lady was right you needs - a sound that every one knows to get out they need a fire truck to help move cars that break down also have a small tank on fire truck that can spray a mist in high preasure keep truck and fire fighters cool! Also ill make another road that can be used to evacuate; If you see smoke road autometic goes to a evacuate road get an early start like that officer said.

[@karenengelhardt1610]

I lived above the reservoir in the Pines. One summer morning in 2010 I was awakened by the explosion of a transformer-at only 8 am-and I thought to myself that the outdated power system will be what gets the ridge. We had a lucky run, but that luck ran out on my son's 10th birthday-November 8, 2018.

[@johnm7437]

in 2017 I was looking for a new place to live and heard of Paradise CA. I had been through other California fires. When I entered Paradise CA my first thought was that this is a fire trap. All of the entrances and exits were overgrown. Timber and brush grew right up next to nearly every road and it was dense. I could not comprehend what was happening there. It seemed ot me like the place was asleep to fire danger. I had planned to stay 4 days. I stayed one night and left. When you look at the videos, you can see traffic stopped as cars waited for gusts of wind to die down so that they felt like they could drive through the blowing embers. That same year I also drove through other counties where the brush and timber along main roads was cleared. The distinctions were obvious. some counties cleared along main roads. Others did next to nothing. Another part of the "plan" that I see missing still to this day is plans for front loaders to clear obstructions on roads. This was clear in the recent Lahaina fire. If you have a major even such as a wind driven fire in drought conditions, you need people prepared to man front loaders to help keep the roads clear, and you need brush clearance along those roads so that the loader can get around traffic. Just some of my observations and thoughts.... I have looked at a number of towns evacuation plans and to this day I don't see these ideas being put forth. I'm an old man with health issues. someone else is going to have to take this up.

[@johnworrall3646]

You did an awesome job on this documentary of yours sir !!!

[@jamiehayes3927]

Chris you did a phenomenal job on this!

[@Coolidge2329]

Thank you

[@wiretamer5710]

In Australia, the first thing you are told about building a disaster plan, is NOT to expect help. If help comes, that is a bonus: thank you so much! I will fit such help into my plan if it happens. But I am not going to count on help. Our disaster plan is to leave our property the day before we have a CODE RED day in our district. Our house is not defendable from ember attack. A code red day is expected to have whether conditions that produce fire that will destroy ANY structure, regardless of its design or how well it is defended. BUT! I am still building a fire shelter with its own oxygen supply, just in case a rapidly accelerating fire starts very close to our property and we have no opportunity to evacuate. To repeat: I am building a fire shelter on my property that I do not intend to use, because nature does not care about human intensions.

[@casmatori]

Exactly! Relying on government or bureaucracy causes death. 80+ people in Paradise died because they waited for the government to tell them what to do.

[@wiretamer5710]

@@casmatori ironically it’s a disaster phenomenon very common in the US. When people danger, a significant percentage of people assume someone in authority, is already taking action on their behalf

[@tsnostrils7496]

you leave every time there is a red flag warning? sounds like it would happen often and disrupt the local economy worse than I'm sure it already is...

[@aaronewen1234]

My wife and I got lucky when the black summer bushfires hit the Mid North Coast of NSW we got the warning and gtfo'd up the mountain to Armidale out of the way, the sense of fear and complete and utter disaster was unreal, not something I will ever forget

[@ericainncca9771]

@@casmatori I don't think that was the case. The fire came way too fast and the infrastructure was not sufficient. The first responders busted ass but it was too much too fast. There were also people who refused to leave.

[@buddhistpriest1357]

More than 80 people died. Hundreds of people, if not thousands died. How many properties went unclaimed after the fire?

[@noellefrancis5756]

Great job!

[@GlennHa]

The US Army has a saying: "No plan survives first contact with the enemy." If it's any comfort to the survivors....you may have lost everything, but you didn't lose YOU. God Bless You all.

[@kiwidiesel]

Bravo🙏 Great message, if your plan involves relying on someone else then you will become the first victim. Only rely on yourself and know how to survive a variety of adverse weather occurances.

[@irishgrl]

As I watch this in my home in Magalia, the Bear fire sits on the brink of Highway 70, my car is packed & November 8, 2018 looms large ... I survived the Lightning Complex & the Camp Fire, but the Bear Fire reminds me I may not survive this fire or the next one....

[@ralemc1960]

They were overwhelmed. First responders went into rescue immediately to save lives and only had time for that. There needs to be appointed residents through out the areas at one mile distances to communicate sight on fire. Cell service and modern day communications seem not to be able to be trusted. Maybe CBs? There has to be a better way. This fire was reported north of Concow as it spread past. They were not given current status when calling about fire information. The fire was in Paridise when the evacuation was ordered.

[@jubileechambers2604]

I just started watching this, I live in Montana we just had a train derail. A couple of the cars that fell over were butane cars luckily in this case the butane was not spilled. However the train did spill a bunch of beer cases and cans into the creek. So they have the first thing brought up as a chemical accident and after we just had an accident that could have been a chemical accident yeah

[@wishyoucouldbeme5580]

I always find it so sad for American citizens that the government never learns from the disasters of other countries to put in safety measures they always wait till it happens to them. Many of the bush fire safety measures they put in place are ones we've had in Australia for years that we learnt through loss that they're needed. So many life's and livelihoods could be saved if everyone learned from everyone

[@briankistner4331]

The city's evac plan was a piss poor one. Since Paradise, they have been several cases where this "code red" alert was a complete failure. People who signed up NEVER got any alerts. These days you're on your own if a wildfire is near you. Worst thing you can do is wait for the alert that may or may not come. These fires move so fast now that if there's a fire 20 miles from you, better start thinking about getting out of Dodge.

[@intheshadow1200]

And that Hawaiian tragedy ...another Paradise burnt to ashes , resulting from Very Unusual Strong 'Violent' Winds combined with Fire ... 😔

[@technovisionz]

Let's not forget rainless hurricane Dora being the cause of those winds.

[@hypsyzygy506]

Brilliant.

[@AllSectorsHearThis]

What about prevention: grazing goats to keep down under growth; water harvesting earthworks like fire breaks with continuous contour ditches, check dams in gullies to catch spread and soak water higher up in the landscape. These measures would hydrate the soils; recharge ground water; help manage flash floods and catch ash from forest fires to prevent it from settling in reservoirs. There is lots of information on you tube. In India this work is done by communities by hand.

[@maxsmith695]

DEW fires will excite the metals inside homes, the homes catch fire, from the inside, and everything becomes ash, including safes, brass fixtures, refrigerators and even guns. There is a video of this exact scenario taking place in 2021.

[@kentvene.454]

What a beautiful town it was just in a very dangerous place. I'm from California my family has a place in twin lakes. I could imagine that twin lakes would be very susceptible to fire I'm pretty sure that the slink fire came close. Anyway back to Paradise it seems like first they were facing a wall of water next their facing a massive wildfire it's really sad because it seemed like a really beautiful town a really nice place that I would like to settle down. I'm in Maine now hour wildfires don't last nearly as long and are nothing compared to these we still have fires for their mostly structure fires and those can be very dangerous in their own way ripping through large and old Victorian houses with a very complex floor plan it's very dangerous for firefighters. Here you also have nor'easters which is somewhat like a snow hurricane and of course the temperature drops below zero for the duration of the winter but with all that said the wildfires in California have a perfect set of circumstances to grow. I would still love to move back and live in twin lakes or bridgeport.

[@The01audi]

These areas were WARNED by the humboldt and pearson fires.

[@katsiduzynski488]

Folks no matter where they live need to know how to shut off utilities. Gas and electricity. Knowing how to turn the valves off -- can lessen any further interior damage somewhat. Know where water hoses are for your property to soak your roofed structures a.s.a.p. Keep them in repair, so pressure for water is useable AND effective before any local fire personnel are there to help! Become self-reliant, without becoming "too arrogant" in your response to an event as well. Sometimes YOU WILL have to leave, regardless of YOUR attempts to save YOUR residence, auto or other structures ... BE SMART, in your response -- not stupid.

[@robinnicol1985]

Not everybody has the meaning to evacuate because now days people think of themselves and forget there is people that don’t have any means to get out so for those people who doesn’t drive or doesn’t have anybody to call prepare to die

[@paitesmith9133]

Just curious as to why with all these prior preparations and plans, what happened that the whole town burned down? Was it the speed of the fire? Was it access to evacuation roads? Was is lack of communication to the public? I’ve watched dozens of documentaries and read all the reports… and there is very little that actually pinpoints the fundamental failures that happened in Paradise. I know this was a “perfect storm” disaster… I am just always searching for more answers. Having family that live in Butte Co and Chico… and I hope that there is a revamp of these evacuation plans during the rebuilding of Paradise. And always grateful for the Cal Fire and Forestry Service personnel who risk their lives during these terrifying events.

[@mostlyvoid.partiallystars]

The ‘failures’, keeping in mind that hindsight is always 20/20 were: Power company negligence (ignition) Extremely high wind speeds that exacerbated ember transference and fire spread speed beyond what most prepared for Overload of cellular communication infrastructure (many causes; some people keeping phones tied up just for anxiety reasons, some looking for direction from emergency support rather than taking initiative to evacuate pre-mandate, individuals calling for emergency responders to extinguish property fires when that was just not feasible given overtaxed resources) Loss of modern communication infrastructure due to fire (cell tower damage, power line(s) damaged) Too few roads with too few lanes out of town Fire involvement superseding disaster control personnel ability to suppress the fire, due to need to immediately focus on preventing loss of human life in its path Related to above you could say - lack of personnel (unreasonable to call that a failure, but maybe if they had twice as many responders things might have played out slightly different) Distance required (and time) for auxiliary responder help to deploy from neighboring capable communities Sheer human freeze response in the face of imminent threat Denial by residents that the fire would be significant enough to reach or harm them Incomplete and/or poorly communicated implementation of new evacuation directions and system that was put in place only months earlier (I believe this is the “code red” thing) Lack of funding and support to implement road widening and additional routebuilding prior to disaster Failure to anticipate egress routes being partially or fully obstructed because of fire damage - no one anticipated these evacuations would be happening literally inside the fire they were fleeing Detrimental laws or excessive red tape around things like removing old trees that are dead to decrease fire fuel sources Inadequate regulation around materials allowed to be used for home building in high fire risk areas (again, fuel for fire) Unpopular fact but - capitalism - which influenced the original negligent power company, the folks who either chose not to purchase adequate insurance or could not afford it, funding for new and upgraded egress routes, profiteering off displaced residents, inflated costs to rebuild during COVID, lack of social safety net for those whose businesses burned or who could not work due relocation or injury, lack of widely available low cost healthcare that could have improved capability and mobility in elderly population, post disaster challenges regarding lack of access to or funding for mental healthcare training pre disaster and triage post disaster for residents and responders, many more) Cognitive biases about reality of our susceptibility to disasters Lack of planning and practice of emergency evacuation process by residents not required to do so by law Difficulty in estimating fire trajectory/speed due to confluence of weather and environmental variables Planning did not seem to consider or perhaps dynamically account for temporal (holiday, time of day) variables Climate change (also related to capitalism) This is very obviously an incomplete list. Every disaster affects a system of systems. There is no magic bullet fix - not even five magic bullet fixes - that would have prevented the losses incurred in the Camp Fire. They may have reduced them, or given a bit more time to a few people, but overcoming the many systemic and environmental challenges that contributed to exactly what occurred involves literally everyone from the homeowner or responder all the way to national legislators and would have to consider not just planning mechanically what to do but how to fund it, and how to adequately provide long term care for those affected. When did Katrina happen? Like, 20+ years ago? There are many NOLA residents who still haven’t recovered from it, and many possible preventative measures (or at least mitigating measures) that could have lessened loss of life and property but still have not been implemented in that city for reasons maybe known, maybe not. It seems to me this film, along with others like Frontline’s Fire in Paradise, are doing the best they can with hindsight by bringing attention to gaps in planning and preparedness. It’s up to us and our elected officials to fill those gaps. And when the next disaster happens, more gaps will be uncovered. And we will try to learn again. This is just how living on Earth works.

[@gregoryziers5406]

Just saw this documentary, how sad that those 85 people lost their lives. Like what other poster’s mentioned, towns like Paradise need to invest in warning sirens like they have in the Midwest. Sirens make a great backup, should the cell towers go down, like what happened during the camp fire. This disaster, shows how we’re dependent on technology for everything. We can’t always depend on technology for everything.

[@mostlyvoid.partiallystars]

Are sirens not dependent on electricity? This isn’t rhetorical, I actually don’t know. Although I guess they aren’t because our tornado sirens go off whether power is out or not. Hm.

[@user-wi9hv2pb2q]

I can't guarantee your plan will work or the conditions will match, but i Can guarantee you will Not be prepared without planning.

[@wegohamm7]

This was great well done, I tell ppl all the time restraining orders are just puece of papper protect yourself ve Prepared for no one to be able to help you omit can save your life

[@corryjookit7818]

As 2022 unfolds along with the highest temperatures ever recorded here in Edinburgh, and throughout Scotland , I am increasingly aware that we are totally unprepared. I live in the central part of Edinburgh and the view from my Kitchen is of a 350 million years old set of two adjoining extinct volcanoes. These are known as Arthur's Seat after an old King. They are covered in greenery and are beautiful to see, and fittingly, one has a face of Lion on it, that Mother Nature has kindly made and loaned us for the duration. Together they do look like a Lion having a well earned rest. Each year there are some small fires which burn away a lot of the bone dry grass, and I hope each year they are put out quickly. I don't know of any guidance re extinct volcanoes on fire.

[@seanbaskett5506]

And I thought the Australians had it bad. Black Saturday 2009-2000 homes. 2019 NSW Bushfires-3000 homes lost. 1 Fire in California-18000 homes lost. This is just the opening salvo.

[@jamesswanson7213]

Very well done. What is your Profession?

[@MichMandie21]

I just wondering if I can find more information for Deaf people if it is emergency or disaster. Is there any update on this for all of USA for emergency disaster like this wildfire that could be different reactions and faster? I am aware of text 911 and notifications are existed but it may be not depend on it cuz of barrier communications or breakdown. I need to be aware and think of worst scenarios because of I am a Deaf. Any suggestions?

[@kenxiong6830]

This is the risk you take when you live on the wildland/urban interface.

[@cheddarbob1447]

Would proper forest management have helped to prevent the scale of the camp fire, or was it properly maintained? I would assume the area is adjacent to, or possibly even surrounded by state and/or federal land. Is the funding and land management up to par? Can private landowners refuse timber management by utilities? I know how private land owners are here in southeast MI about their trees, as i work for a utility company and know that trees are by far the #1 reason for power outages. Funny how the areas most prone to the outages are also known by us as notorious for refusing proper tree clearance in the easement. Either way, a horrible situation in Paradise and its surrounding communities.

[@theblackbear211]

Cheddarbob14... I have to assume that you are unaware that the root cause of this fire proved to be a lack of maintenance on a high tension transmission line that had already surpassed its designed surface life. This lack of maintenance was part of a deliberate and widespread pattern of deferring maintenance in order to maximize shareholder dividends. The Company has pleaded guilty to 85 counts of involuntary manslaughter.

[@nala3038]

Blame Pacific Gas and Extortion!

[@c8Lorraine1]

The Mormons have advocated flight/ evacuation bag per person for over 100 years.help others and leave the disaster area . Always keep a full tank of fuel in your car. Know your neighbours, particularly the aged and disabled, have a plan to include them into your evacuation plan

[@jordyking597]

Always have a plan. You are at the mercy of a wind shift at the wrong time for your entier town to burn to a crisp.

[@Kat-amber-t2z]

Where I live tornados and Yellowstone erupting are the major threats. But I still worry about more than that, like the grid going down. No one else takes it seriously. The people I know who have fireplaces won't even buy firewood in case of a power outage in the winter, which we HAVE experienced before. My Dad takes it seriously, but he can't convince Mom to, and he'd have to to prepare properly because she controls the family finances. I had to buy them firewood and materials to make a small, basic firewood rack, because they're one of the 2 households I know who have fireplaces but won't buy wood. I admit I don't have an evac plan, because there's no disaster for which an evacuation would actually help unless we got out of town well in advance, like when you know a hurricane may be coming, and we don't get those here. And I don't have a car. So most of my plans are oriented around sheltering in place. If I have to leave, I have multiple boxes of various supplies, plus a tent and a sleeping bag. As long as the weather isn't too insane or there's radioactive fallout, I'm prepared to set up a campsite wherever is available if I do have to leave and someone brings me and my stuff with them.

[@watchthe1369]

A plan to deviate from at least gets people trained in skills they will use to MASSIVELY repeat tasks to handle what needs to happen to at least save people. I know the difference between peacetime military is somthing like a couple thousand repairs versus 50plus thousand repairs in (disaster) war time. The eventual bandwidth is going to need to be huge, in a lot of ways people just have to step up and learn their repetions and confidence on the job. Regular emergency services is help in a routine situation with some ability to helpin a disaster. police and fire are typically present in a ration of 5 or 6 THOUSAND to ONE. People have to have an individual plan anchored around the overall plan. Have a couple "Fill the Tank" gas cans stashed to top off your tank for the forever drive out of the danger zone.

[@randydiamond7276]

I wish I knew to sign up and help these people there

[@racheljennings1688]

I have made it through an earthquake we live with ‘em unfortunately

[@Silly_lalalala]

I’m fairly certain that fires and earthquakes are very different things

[@cynthianorman44]

💔🌟💔I cry for you 🌟💖🌟

[@brittanysears9556]

I realllyyy like what that firefighter said about making it clear to people the impact that the aftermath has on people. Because he’s absolutely right, no one understands how much it truly affects you until you go through it. There’s a huge difference in how it feels having a fire IN your town and losing a neighborhood or a section of your town (which I’ve also experienced before), and having a fire completely LEVEL your town to the point of almost taking it off the map. There’s no comparison, and there’s no way to prepare someone for how that feels. It’s been 4 years and Paradise and Magalia pretty much still don’t f*cking exist. We just drive through town everyday looking at burnt up empty lots, with a population of about 12,000 TOTAL between the two towns (if I’m being generous), they’re right to compare us to 1906 SF. We lost 77% of our population (just between Paradise and Magalia, not even including Pulga, Concow, Yankee Hill, etc.) and the Bay Area lost around 73%, and we lost 93% of the town/buildings and the Bay Area lost 80%. It’s insane how destructive this fire was. I’m not trying to make it sound like a competition, I just don’t think a lot of people who weren’t there TRULY understand the magnitude of it. You can say “deadliest and most destructive” but the moment they see something pushing a million acres THAT becomes the new “destructive” because of sheer size. But that’s not the determining factor. 93% of a town and 77% permanently displaced does. It’s just crazy..

[@dukecoffee6527]

Our fucking town was lost to poor management, neglect and only focused on money from PG&E we all knew a fire would happen to this magnitude we had previous fires on Penze and Skyway even in Clark back in 2015 when I went to Intermediate and even in the 80's Paradise got evacuated and lost nothing, The Campfire was a shit show scrabbling scared citizens and they lost their life do to poor resources, to this day I remember what happen, every heart beat, looking at my brother he though we were going to die as he held our dogs looking at my father and keeping him in check to escape down Clark and me the only thing that I did was pushing on Penze was gone Skyway was closed even to Magalia, we lived near sawmill and Elliot we took over 2 hours to even to go Orovile and stayed at the casino rv the only clothes I had were on my back smelling like smoke, fire holes, I get it learning from the Campfire but over 80 people died mostly elderly, all my friends I didn't want then to show up on the board as MIA or even passed away thank the schools for that good drivers and thinkers, redding the Carr fire we didn't learn from that fire even tho no one was killed but that fire was huge, the lesson here is to 110% prepared for something of this magnitude again or even worst dispatch, first responder the whole state of Cali needs to be prepared and ready 110% all the time.

[@4g6_miragecolorado00]

Wow... sorry to hear that. I appreciate you sharing your story. We just had a terrible fire here in Colorado that wiped out some towns. I hate that this is becoming a normal thing now, sometimes to change starting with us. Take care

[@maxsmith695]

@@4g6_miragecolorado00 DEW's are a terrible weapon.

[@maxsmith695]

I believe PGE is the patsy. Yes their equipment supposedly just fell over and the fire began, but I think outside forces made that happen.

[@martywhitehead9902]

Chris you did a very good job on this documentary

[@mikemurrish9993]

Everybody knows to fend for themselves but one you have when you have city taxes upon city taxes and County taxes all for the different departments almost all of it goes to administrative cost not to the evacuation roads that were planned but they sure did tax me for those future roads that were never built oh yeah by the way after the fire and all of the destruction Butte County raises my property tax so you're exactly right you have to fend for yourself

[@24680jru]

TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP

[@watchthe1369]

Yeah, how long does it take when you have to rebuild your life. If you have "Full replacement" insurance, do you have the "As Built" house plans for rebuilding, and doing it according to modern codes? I had friends who toook 5 years to finally be rebuilt or resettled after disasters like this.

[@Natalie-Smith-1111]

I was in it for 9 hours, it was pure hell, people were blocking emergency vehicles from getting in because they were blocking us from getting out!!! They closed off roads out that were safe. Paradise needed an escape plan, but they failed us 😞 now I live with PTSD and the fear of fire, my husband on the other hand couldn’t live with it 🥺😭 now he’s in heaven 😇

[@theadventuregoddess]

When there was a fire where i live..... I did not wait for an evac order. I left as soon as the electric went out. If you wait you risk being caught in a traffic jam.

[@scotthilke]

The power was still on when we ran from our home in Paradise. Other than a few texts from PG&E over the previous two days (still on my phone) that the power might be turned off, there was no other warning. The fire outran us as we were stuck on Nunneley Rd. As noted there are few escape routes down the Ridge. I grew up in Paradise and it was always known that it wasn't 'if' we had a major fire, it was 'when'. I miss my home and all my friends that are now spread all over the US.

[@hisimagenme]

Awesome video!! I've been saying this for years!! It's great we have emergency services but... there is and always will be a situation where those emergency services in our area are included in the same scenario we are. Get out, and find a way is as applicable to them as the common citizen. In the end people are not heroes, they just survive and move on, help others survive and move on. That's no heroics. No one Flys into a fire with a cape or walks through flames untouched or moves like lightening like the Hollywood super heros... if that happens a very real God has His hand around a normal ordinary human being. Only God is a hero, only He saves. Sometimes He uses a individual under extraordinary circumstances, but most the time He uses everyone everywhere, in dreadful circumstances, doing sacrificial things, selfless things. That's how it works.

[@cg7926]

Can u make a video about the life after that terrible disaster👍

[@jaessongee8864]

This was a lesson learned in Australia not 10 yrs beforehand. People died on the road because they left it to late , a lesson that Paradise learnt too late, if only they paid attention to Australia maybe so many people wouldn't have had to die.....as it stands in Australia 176 people died.......

[@DavGreg]

Citizens - not civilians. Fire and Police and EMS are not in the military.

[@HobbyOrganist]

We need to start building houses like they do in Hungary, Romania, Slovakia- from kiln fired red terracotta blocks that are larger then the usual concrete blocks, they build with that and stucco the exterior, the roofs are not dry gasoline (asphalt) they are the same fired red terracotta made into roof tiles- fire proof, heavy walls resistant to high winds, and the walls are about 126" thick with hollow cavities insulation can be put in

[@aaronewen1234]

Even then it's not guaranteed, we had a bloke in the black summer fires whose house was fired terracotta bricks, and was built into the side of a hill,while it didn't necessarily burn from the fire the gas tank at the back of the house exploded destroying the house

[@KieraCameron514]

Earthquakes are named after places like Loma Prieta, San Francisco, Northridge, and Tohoku.

[@mariekatherine5238]

Those in charge are so afraid of starting a panic, they wait until too late. The ordinary persons in danger zones should should know what to do and must rehearse it regularly. This isn’t rocket science. School children participate in regular fire drills, or, depending upon location, lock-down drills, tornado drills, earthquake drills, evacuation drills. 9-11 was truly unprecedented in its scope, but wildfires in California are to be expected. Residents of coastal North Carolina, Florida, up to New England, the Gulf of Mexico, know they’re going to have hurricanes. Have a plan!