Must Reads: Here’s how Paradise ignored warnings and became a deathtrap
LA TimesEmbers blow in the wind as the Camp fire burns a KFC restaurant in Paradise, Calif., on Nov. 8. In the aftermath of the Camp fire — 86 dead, more than 13,900 homes destroyed and Paradise decimated — local and state officials said the tragedy was unforeseen and unavoidable, an “unprecedented” monster of fire. “Or they’ll think, ‘It was terrible for Paradise, but it won’t happen to me.’” × Drone video showing charred remains of the Ridgewood Mobile Home Park after the Camp fire An imperfect place Paradise was built upon a system of volcanic ledges bisected by a fan of deep ravines emptying into the Sacramento Valley. But the 2005 state fire management plan for the ridge, developed in consultation with some of those same Paradise planners, warned that canyon winds posed a “serious threat” to Paradise. “You’ve got to recognize the risk.” Firebrands and embers The Feather River Canyon, where the Camp fire began, was well-known for high winds.
History of this topic
Crews battle wildfires across the US West and fight to hold containment lines
Associated Press
Five years after the Camp fire, Paradise survivors see a hard future for Maui
LA Times
Paradise again threatened as deadly fires push toward towns gutted by 2018 inferno
LA Times
A wary and traumatized Paradise watches the raging inferno from nearby California fires
CNN
Safety questions still swirl in Paradise year after wildfire
Associated Press
Residents Of Paradise And Other Towns Destroyed By Wildfire Must Wait To Go Home
NPR
The Camp fire burned homes but left trees standing. The science behind the fire’s path
LA Times
California fire: What started as a tiny brush fire became the state’s deadliest wildfire. Here’s how
LA Times
Paradise lost: How California’s deadliest wildfire unfolded
CNN
As California’s deadliest wildfire closed in, evacuation orders were slow to arrive
LA Times
Despite fire after fire, Paradise continued to boom — until California’s worst wildfire hit
LA Times
Death toll from the Paradise fire jumps to 42, making it the worst in California history
LA Times
Stunning NASA Photos Show California's Devastating Wildfires From Space
Huff Post
Paradise fire becomes one of California’s worst: 6,700 structures lost; at least nine dead
LA Times
Hundreds trapped and thousands flee an area of northern California as blaze swells to 5,000 acres
Daily Mail
Paradise, Calif., Destroyed By Wildfire, Authorities Say
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Slowing winds provide opportunity for firefighters to control Los Angeles wildfire
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