Page 378 - Peterson 85 Years and Going Strong

The Tubbs fire was just one of thirteen simultane- ous fires in Northern California during October 2017. It was the most deadly, destructive fire in California history. Until November 8, 2018. In Paradise.
CAMP FIRE (NOVEMBER 2018)
California’s 2018 wildfire season was the worst fire season on record. Over 8,500 fires consumed 1.9 million acres across the state. But the worst of the worst was Butte County’s Camp Fire. It burned the town of Paradise down to the ground. And that was only one percent of the fire’s total foot-
print. The Camp Fire claimed 85 lives, over 18,000 structures, 153,336 acres and cost $16.5 billion in damages. Today, it stands as the sixth deadliest fire in US history.3
It descended on the town of Paradise the morn- ing of November 8, 2018, before most people were awake. While Peterson’s Pete Melchiori was on the southern outskirts of Paradise building firebreaks, people were literally running for their lives in mass exodus. Cars clogged both Skyway and Neal roads, the two main arteries down the hill into Chico. Walls of flames lined the streets as people tried desperately to get out.
The Camp Fire hit the town of Paradise on November 8, 2018. The entire population fled to escape the catastrophic devastation.
3 Löw, Petra. “The natural disasters of 2018 in figures.” Munich RE, January 8, 2019, https://www.munichre.com/topics-online/en/climate-change- and-natural-disasters/natural-disasters/the-natural-disasters-of-2018-in-figures.html
376 | PETERSON: 85 YEARS AND GOING STRONG