Paradise rebuilds, but fire safety sometimes takes a back seat to economic realities

Victoria Sinclaire, second from right, and her family were the first to rebuild their home in Paradise, Calif. “If you make it so difficult to build, they’ll just leave.” A vision for Paradise In the first few months after the fire, the town didn’t know where to start. “Having this zone right next to a building is pretty important,” said Steve Quarles, a senior scientist with the Institute for Business & Home Safety who studied homes in Paradise after the fire. “No matter what the homeowner does in terms of vegetation management on the property, embers can blow over and ignite that woodpile next to the house.” Jim Broshears, the city’s emergency management director during the fire and its former fire chief, maintained this kind of firebreak with a ring of brick pavers around his home, and he believes it’s one of the reasons the home is still standing. “I felt like I could never trust my town again.” Victoria Sinclaire holds framed shards of china and ceramics that were salvaged from the ruins of her family’s home after last year’s Camp fire.