so Paradise California is gone
i haven’t seen any noise about this on tumblr yet, but a fire has completely wiped out a small town in california.
they’re calling it the camp fire. over 20,000 residents have been evacuated so far, the last area estimates i heard were over an hour ago at 18,000 acres and its still zero percent contained.
this is the smoke from about 18 miles away from the fire three hours ago. if you know anyone near chico, paradise, oroville or durham california you might want to check they’re okay
UPDATE: 4PM FRI NOV. 9, 2018
the fire has completely walked over paradise, magalia, and much of the rest of butte county. it’s under 10% containment and moving towards chico, which was been mostly evacuated as well. it’s been documented as one of the top 20 deadliest fires seen in california. i know many of the people personally whose lives have been destroyed by this fire. my aunt and uncle’s home, of whom we’re very close to, was demolished last night, same goes for family friends and others who lived in paradise– which is completely gone. there are 5 confirmed deaths, several dozen missing people.
EVACUATION SITES STILL OPEN AS OF 1 HOUR AGO:
Butte County Fairgrounds (199 E Hazel St, Gridley, CA 95948)
Yuba-Sutter Fairground (442 Franklin Ave, Yuba City, CA 95991)
Glenn County Fairgrounds (221 E Yolo St, Orland, CA 95963)
Chester Memorial Hall (22 Gay Street, Chester)
HOW TO HELP/DONATE:
“Currently the best way to contribute is to make a monetary donation via the North Valley Community Foundation website.” -abc7news.com
“Supplies: Hope Center in Oroville (1950 Kitrick Ave Ste. A) is taking donations. Hours: Friday and Saturday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Needs: warm clothes, shoes, socks, coats (primarily for elderly residents).” -abc7news.com
the majority of those affected by the fire in paradise were elderly people. and having known paradise and magalia myself for years, it’s not a wealthy part of california. these people will need help, and lots of it.
if you have any questions, you can message me personally or seek information online or from the above references personally.
if you cannot help yourself, please spread the word and reblog. so many wonderful people are going through a terrible thing and need your help.
I just want to offer a minor correction: Chico was not evacuated, barring some residential communities in the southeastern parts of the city. If it was “mostly evacuated,” it would be a huge problem since 90,000 people live in the city limits – Paradise, with its population of ~30,000, was only barely evacuated in time, and some folks still burned to death in their cars. Imagine a city three times that size, trying to get out via little two-lane highways. Thank god Chico didn’t need to be evacuated.
THAT BEING SAID, Paradise is just… gone. It’s fucking gone. 27,000 people lived there. People died trying to escape – this fire is fast, and it’s devastating, and it’s getting caught by the diablo winds which are pushing it further and faster. I can only hope that the winds die down and they contain it as quickly as possible, and that promise of rain next weekend holds true.
