Paradise

by Lizzie Johnson

  from countries as far away as New Zealand and Australia: Crews have been flying in from Australia to help the United States since 2000, when the two countries began collaborating. Firefighters came from Down Under in 2017 to help during the Wine Country wildfires. The United States sent personnel to Australia in 2009 and 2010. Firefighters are paid by their home country, and the terrain and tactics are similar enough, so the system works, officials have said. Lizzie Johnson, “Big Boost from Down Under: Australians and Kiwis Join California Firefight,” San Francisco Chronicle, August 19, 2018, sfchronicle.com/​california-wildfires/​article/​Big-Boost-from-Down-Under-Australians-and-Kiwis-13164685.php.

  911 calls continued to roll in: Cal Fire released the 911 calls it received during the Camp Fire. They can be found here: calfire.app.box.com/​s/ioth04321tb09r0aqigxpyyxhza9ock5/​folder/​89509185902.

  fifty-one cell sites: Terrie Prosper, director, news and outreach, California Public Utilities Commission, in discussion with the author, December 6, 2019.

  seventeen towers: Cindi Dunsmoor, Butte County Emergency Services officer, in discussion with the author, December 13, 2019.

  Raised by small-town grocers: John Messina, Cal Fire division chief, in discussion with the author, February 20, 2019.

  to order a regional incident management team: “It was the middle of the afternoon; people had headlights on,” remembered Todd Derum, a member of the team. “I was like, this is not going to be good—not that they are ever good—but this will be another one of those off-the-chart, heinous incidents…. When you see a fire that is moving like that through a community, calling it a wildfire is not even an accurate statement whatsoever.” Todd Derum, Cal Fire operations chief, in discussion with the author, December 30, 2019.

  One woman—a mother of five: The woman was Terra Hill, a thirty-six-year-old mother of five. She and her roommate, forty-eight-year-old Jesus Fernandez, sought shelter under the truck. Fernandez died there, waiting for help.

  asked the Butte County Sheriff’s sergeant: The Butte County Sheriff’s sergeant was Brad Meyer.

  only one person…had shown up for work: The one person to show up was Michael Thompson. Michael Thompson, Butte County Sheriff’s Office information systems analyst, in discussion with the author, September 20, 2019.

  two people…calling in with identical requests: The two people were Cal Fire dispatcher Jennifer Burke and Butte County Sheriff’s sergeant Brad Meyer. Jennifer Burke, Cal Fire dispatcher, in discussion with the author, January 7, 2020.

  the California-based software company OnSolve: Sue Holub, OnSolve chief marketing officer, and Troy Harper, OnSolve director of government strategy, in discussion with the author, January 8, 2020.

  only 11 percent of Butte County’s population had registered: Risa Johnson, “How to Sign Up for Emergency Alerts, Check Evacuation Routes,” Chico Enterprise-Record, February 14, 2018, chicoer.com/​2018/​02/​14/​how-to-sign-up-for-emergency-alerts-check-evacuation-routes/.

  At 7:57 a.m., the analyst keyed Messina’s first evacuation order: The first evacuation alert in Paradise reached 1,699 numbers. Another 965 numbers weren’t reached. Butte County Sheriff’s Office, Code Red Alerts.

  he never received the order to evacuate Concow: At 11:52 a.m., the Butte County Sheriff’s Office dispatched an alert reading, “Due to the fire in the area, an evacuation order has been issued for the area of Highway 70 from Concow South including all of Yankee Hill on both sides of 70. If you need assistance in evacuating, please call 911.” The message reached 191 phone numbers; it failed to deliver to 207 numbers. And the alert came hours too late. Butte County Sheriff’s Office, Code Red Alerts.

  the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System: Plans for alert and warning protocols had last been established in Butte County in 2011—seven years before the Camp Fire. In a government report, Butte County said that it attempted to issue an alert through the IPAWS system, but it failed to go through. Despite guidance from FEMA saying that counties should test their software before a disaster, staff acknowledged they had never done so. Auditor of the State of California, California Is Not Adequately Prepared to Protect Its Most Vulnerable Residents from Natural Disasters, 2019-103, Sacramento: December 2019, auditor.ca.gov/​reports/​2019-103/​chapters.html.

  took off at 7:48 a.m.: David Kelly, Cal Fire air tanker contract pilot, in discussion with the author, May 31, 2019.

  Cal Fire operated twenty-three of these air tankers: California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention, “Aviation History,” accessed June 1, 2020, fire.ca.gov/​about-us/​history/​aviation-history/.

  Kelly’s supervisor said over the radio: The supervisor was Cal Fire battalion chief Shem Hawkins. He said: “What I really tried to impress upon the command staff [at the ECC] was the need for evacuations and how fast the fire was going to spread and that there was not going to be a way to stop the fire.” Shem Hawkins, in discussion with the author, February 19, 2020.

  submerged themselves in the cold reservoir: Kurtis Alexander, “Trapped by Camp Fire, More than a Dozen People—One 90—Survived in Chilly Lake,” San Francisco Chronicle, November 13, 2018, sfchronicle.com/​california-wildfires/​article/​Survival-in-the-lake-People-trapped-by-Camp-Fire-13389692.php.

  Messina called a fellow division chief: The Cal Fire division chief was Garrett Sjolund. Garrett Sjolund in discussion with the author, February 19, 2019.

  had gathered at Skywalker Ranch: Ken Pimlott, Cal Fire director, in discussion with the author, August 16, 2019.

  “If you stick around for that picture”: Garrett Sjolund, February 19, 2019.

  CHAPTER 5: THE IRON MAIDEN

  Interviews: Chris and Rachelle Sanders; retired fire chiefs Jim Broshears and George Morris; Paradise Police chief Eric Reinbold, lieutenant Anthony Borgman, and dispatcher Carol Ladrini; Paradise town manager Lauren Gill, assistant town manager Marc Mattox, assistant to the town manager Colette Curtis, and town clerk Dina Volenski; Paradise information technology manager Josh Marquis; Feather River hospital chief financial officer Ryan Ashlock, nurse Tammy Ferguson, patient Stephen Arrington, groundskeeper Tom Paxton, intensive care unit director Allyn Pierce, charge nurse Ed Beltran, and nurse supervisor Bev Roberson; Butte County district attorney Mike Ramsey; Paradise Unified School District superintendent Michelle John; Paradise Post editor Rick Silva.

  Gill was responsible for gathering intelligence: Per the town’s Emergency Operations Plan, Gill had “complete authority over all Town of Paradise department personnel and resources as directed in the Municipal Code” (section 2.40.060) during an emergency. This included the Police Department. Since the Camp Fire, the Town of Paradise and the Paradise Police force have met with Butte County officials and decided that the Sheriff’s Office will be in charge of CodeRed alerts if a disaster is threatening any jurisdiction, like Paradise or Chico. Town of Paradise, Emergency Operations Plan, Paradise: 2011, pp. 43–44. https://townofparadise.com/​sites/​default/​files/​fileattachments/​community/​page/​22311/​2011_town_of_paradise_eop_w_supporting_docs-final_1-12.pdf.

  Gill sent a text message: Lauren Gill, text message to Paradise Town Council, November 8, 2018.

  Bolin had texted the chat group back: Greg Bolin, text message to Paradise Town Council, November 8, 2018.

  this time with a message from councilman Mike Zuccolillo: Mike Zuccolillo, text message to Paradise Town Council, November 8, 2018.

  asked her to send an internal CodeRed: Dina Volenski, Paradise town clerk, in discussion with the author, December 30, 2019.

  had already posted an update: The staffer was assistant town manager Marc Mattox.

  By 2013, she had been appointed to the most powerful position: Anthony Siino, “Lauren Gill Begins First Day as Interim Town Manager,” Paradise Post, January 2, 2013, paradisepost.com/​2013/​01/​02/​lauren-gill-begins-first-day-as
-interim-town-manager/.

  thirteen monster blazes had barely missed the town limits: Matthias Gafni, “Rebuild Paradise? Since 1999, 13 Large Wildfires Burned in the Footprint of the Camp Fire,” San Jose Mercury News, December 2, 2018, mercurynews.com/​2018/​12/​02/​rebuild-paradise-since-1999-13-large-wildfires-burned-in-the-footprint-of-the-camp-fire/.

  the Oakland-Berkeley Hills Fire killed twenty-five people: Rachel Swan, “25 Years Later: Oakland Hills Ripe for Another Firestorm,” San Francisco Chronicle, October 20, 2016, sfchronicle.com/​bayarea/​article/​25-years-later-Oakland-hills-ripe-for-another-9984731.php.

  as much as 5.5 to 19 million acres annually: Robert E. Martin and Scott L. Stephens, “Prehistoric and Recent Fire Occurrence in California,” State Resources Water Control Board (1997), accessed May 26, 2020, p. 4, waterboards.ca.gov/​water_issues/​programs/​tmdl/​records/​region_1/​2003/​ref1 039.pdf.

  burned in 1923, 1970, and 1980: U.S. Fire Administration, The East Bay Hills Fire, USFA-TR-060, Oakland-Berkeley: October 1991, accessed January 12, 2019, p. 11, usfa.fema.gov/​downloads/​pdf/​publications/​tr-060.pdf.

  “catastrophic life and property loss”: The full excerpt reads: “Heavy fuel loads, steep terrain, poor access and light flashy fuels create severe fire hazards. The increased population in this area creates a high potential for catastrophic life and property loss.” California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Butte Unit, Butte County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (Sacramento, CA: January 5, 2006), p. 102. This information is available by public records request. See fire.ca.gov/​programs/​fire-protection/​reports/.

  It blackened 8,333 acres: “Butte County Community Wildfire Protection Plan 2015–2020,” p. 7.

  and caused $6 million in damage: Laura Smith, “County Officials ‘Not Optimistic’ Poe Fire Will Be Declared Disaster,” Chico News & Review, October 11, 2001, newsreview.com/​chico/​county-officials-not-optimistic-poe-fire-will-be-declared-disaster/​content?oid=6338.

  “The greatest fear is fire on the Ridge”: The thirty-seven-year-old woman was Shauna Robbins. Matthai Kuruvila, “74 Paradise homes destroyed by Humboldt Fire,” San Francisco Chronicle, June 15, 2008, sfgate.com/​bayarea/​article/​74-Paradise-homes-destroyed-by-Humboldt-Fire-3209635.php#.

  it carved Paradise and Magalia into fourteen zones: Town of Paradise, Town of Paradise Evacuation Traffic Control Plan, Paradise: Town Hall, March 10, 2015. This information is available by public records request. See townofparadise.com/​index.php/​our-government/​departments/​town-clerk [inactive].

  a local Civil Grand Jury issued a report: The full excerpt reads: “The unpredictability, intensity, and locations of the 2008 wildfires near the towns of Magalia, Paradise, Concow, and Forest Ranch emphasized the critical shortcomings of the area’s readiness for extreme fire situations.” Butte County Grand Jury, Wildfire & Safety Considerations for Butte County General Plan 2030, p. 46. Paradise: Town Hall, 2008.

  responded with a scathing public letter: Mayor Frankie Rutledge to the Honorable James F. Reilley, August 11, 2009.

  thirteen people had been injured: Eleven people were injured in 2011, 16 in 2012, 9 in 2013, 13 in 2014, and 17 in 2015. Two people died in 2013 and 2015. Ironically, after the Downtown Paradise Safety Project was completed on the Skyway, injuries actually went up. There were 29 incidents in the four-month period between November 2014 and March 2015. Town of Paradise Public Works Department, Downtown Paradise Safety Project Collision Data Report, Paradise: Town Hall, December 31, 2015.

  reduce pedestrian accidents by means of a “road diet”: After the Camp Fire, reporters at the Los Angeles Times were the first to break news about the Town Council’s 2014 vote to narrow the Skyway. Paige St. John, Rong-Gong Lin II, and Joseph Serna, “Paradise Narrowed Its Main Road by Two Lanes Despite Warnings of Gridlock During a Major Wildfire,” Los Angeles Times, November 20, 2018, latimes.com/​local/​california/​la-me-ln-paradise-evacuation-road-20181120-story.html.

  Eselin called the project “insane”: Mildred Eselin stated that she had not seen more than one person crossing the Skyway since the last Town Council meeting she had attended. “All the people I ever talked to have never heard of [the town’s survey],” she said. “And when I told them what the point of it was…the general response was, ‘Insane.’ ” Eselin said that she didn’t think the project would increase business in the downtown and said that she was very concerned about how the improvements would affect evacuation during wildland fires. Mildred Eselin, Paradise Town Council meeting, May 13, 2014, 01:47:27, livestream.com/​townofparadise/​events/​2983185.

  The Bay Area engineering firm: The firm, Whitlock & Weinberger Transportation, Inc., of Santa Rosa, said in its report, “Because of the emergency evacuation needs of the corridor, raised medians are not recommended in the corridor.” Later, the report added: “Due to the potential for fires in the Paradise hillside areas, Skyway should be designed to accommodate two travel lanes in the downhill direction, which may be needed to serve vehicle evacuation during emergencies such as fire…. Because of this operation, the [road] cannot be designed with raised medians within the center lane’s space.” Butte County Association of Governments and the Town of Paradise, Skyway Corridor Study, Santa Rosa, CA: February 12, 2009, p. 35, bcag.org/​Planning/​Skyway-Corridor-Study/.

  up to twenty-four thousand vehicles traveled the road every day: About 13,000 to 24,000 vehicles traveled on the Skyway every day, averaging speeds of 30 to 40 mph, according to a report published seven years before the wildland urban interface drill. By 2016, rush hour traffic fell in the upper limit of that range. Butte County Association of Governments and the Town of Paradise, Skyway Corridor Study, p. 1.

  simply avoided downtown: Jim Broshears of the Paradise Ridge Fire Safe Council told the editor of the local newspaper that he thought “residents may have decided to avoid the drill,” something that “officials had hoped would not happen.” Rick Silva, “Evacuation, Firefighting Simulation Goes Well; Improvements Identified,” Paradise Post, June 22, 2016, paradisepost.com/​2016/​06/​22/​officials-say-evacuation-drill-a-success/.

  firefighters staged their own drill: The drill ran from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. on June 22, 2016. Officials wanted residents to practice evacuating and make sure they knew their evacuation zone. Rick Silva, “Upper Ridge Fire Drill Set for June 22,” Paradise Post, June 8, 2016, paradisepost.com/​2016/​06/​08/​upper-ridge-fire-drill-set-for-june-22/.

  a system for emptying the entire Ridge at once: California Department of Homeland Security, Exercise and Evaluation Program, 2016 Wildland Urban Interface and Evacuation Exercise After Action Report, by Jim Broshears, Butte County: June 22, 2016.

  the town’s roster hadn’t been updated in years: While Butte County has a program that identifies vulnerable residents, a roster overseen by the Town of Paradise hadn’t been updated in more than a decade. Jim Broshears, former Paradise Fire chief, in discussion with the author, January 15, 2019.

  was readied for rotator cuff surgery: Patient Zero was Stephen Arrington. Stephen Arrington in discussion with the author, May 29, 2019.

  (“Don’t talk crap about anyone”): The intensive care unit director was Allyn Pierce. Allyn Pierce in discussion with the author, September 2, 2019.

  She received training for this role four times a year: Jim Broshears, former Paradise Fire chief, in discussion with the author, January 15, 2019.

  It was Reinbold’s responsibility to call Gill: Eric Reinbold, Paradise Police chief, in discussion with the author, December 23, 2019.

  A sergeant who would have been assigned: Anthony Borgman, Paradise Police lieutenant, in discussion with the author, January 22, 2020.

  four staff members were trained to use CodeRed: The other staff members were assistant to the town manager Colette Curtis, information technology manager Josh Marquis, town c
lerk Dina Volenski, and public information officer Ursula Smith.

  the state had been confronted with the grave consequences: Lizzie Johnson, “Wildfires Emphasize Need to Improve Emergency Alert Systems,” San Francisco Chronicle, December 4, 2017, sfchronicle.com/​bayarea/​article/​Wildfires-emphasize-need-to-improve-emergency-12405556.php; Lizzie Johnson, “Unlike in North Bay, Ventura County Officials Issued Wide Alert,” San Francisco Chronicle, December 5, 2017, sfchronicle.com/​news/​article/​Unlike-in-North-Bay-Ventura-County-officials-12408111.php.

  The state criticized Sonoma County’s decision: Joaquin Palomino and Lizzie Johnson, “Sonoma County Warnings Fell Short in Wine Country Fires, State Report Says,” San Francisco Chronicle, February 26, 2018, sfchronicle.com/​news/​article/​Sonoma-County-emergency-readiness-warnings-fell-12709628.php.

  Marquis clicked on the zones: Meaghan Mackey, “New Analytics Show Camp Fire CodeRed Alerts Failed to Reach More than Half the Residents,” KRCR News, May 6, 2019, krcrtv.com/​news/​deprecated-camp-fire/​new-analytics-show-camp-fire-code-red-alerts-failed-to-reach-more-than-half-the-residents.

  The alert went out to fewer than half: The first CodeRed alert from the Town of Paradise reached 3,262 phone numbers. It failed to reach another 2,927 phone numbers. When an alert is sent, the system tries to reach each number up to six times before timing out.

  bottlenecks at the bulb-outs: The bulb-outs were added on the Skyway from Pearson Road to Elliott Road.

  a live interview to a television journalist: The interview was with KRCR, News Channel 7. The footage has since been taken down from KRCR’s website, so information from the broadcast was from a transcription taken by the author at the time and by Colette Curtis’s recollection.