1 year after Camp Fire: Efforts to rebuild continue in Paradise, some face uncertain future

Vanessa Vasconcelos Image
Monday, November 4, 2019
Community of Paradise continues to rebuild one year after deadly Camp Fire
The Camp Fire killed 85 people and scorched more than 153,000 acres. The efforts to rebuild continue, but there is an uncertain future for many who may never return.

PARADISE, Calif. -- In the town of Paradise and surrounding communities, you can find charred debris, signs for businesses no longer standing, and empty lots with mailboxes for the homes once there, still intact.

"You have to get past that because it will bury you," said Mark Roberts of Paradise.

November 8th will forever be engrained in the minds of the tens of thousands that lived in those communities devastated by the Camp Fire.

"Two minutes, I got away with the truck I was driving and the clothes I was wearing," Roberts said.

RELATED: Camp Fire Timeline of Terror: The evacuation of Butte County's Paradise from beginning to end

Painful reminders may still be scattered through town, but what stands out are the people with hope to overcome.

"We're going to start over, and we're not just going to hope for the best but be a part of what is going to make it better," Roberts said.

Roberts is laying the foundation in his rebuild process, but many are just getting started.

"Yeah, we have a million-dollar view, but now we have nothing."

Paula Neher lives atop Yankee Hill. The three-story home she and her husband built 30 years ago overlooked the north fork of the Feather River.

RELATED: Camp Fire evacuee returns home to find lost dog patiently waiting

"We fell our own trees and milled it in our own sawmill," she said.

She hasn't brought herself to sift through the remnants of the home where they raised their children and grandchildren.

"Maybe it's better not even to try and just move on, but its easier said than done," Neher said.

Because insurance only paid off their land mortgage, they can't afford to rebuild.

"(Neher's family) gets up every morning and try to make that better than the one that was," she said.

In addition to a remembrance event, the Paradise Chamber is also hoping you join them in 85 seconds of silence to honor the 85 lost in the fire. The moment of silence will be observed at 11:08 on November 8th.

Go here for more coverage of the Camp Fire.

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