Camp Fire Survivors Offer Advice for Los Angeles County
Thousands of people in the Los Angeles area face a difficult road ahead after losing their homes to wildfires.
The scenes from Southern California resonate with survivors of the 2018 Camp Fire, California’s deadliest wildfire, and they are already trying to share what they learned.
Hundreds of miles separate the small town of Paradise from bustling Los Angeles County. Both areas are different in just about every way but are now tied together by a similar tragedy — wildfires.
Paradise Mayor Steve Crowder is already in contact with officials in Southern California, including the Altadena board chair to share insight on what the immediate steps can be after a disaster of such magnitude but also long-term recovery. He said while the community might look different, with enough resources and support it can still be home.
“It’s just really eerie watching it unfold because it was like watching the Camp Fire happen again,” Crowder said.
Crowder was elected to his first term as mayor just two days before the Camp Fire broke out, helping direct traffic as thousands of people tried to escape.
As I was watching it unfold on the news, I was listening to wind speed, unable to get aircraft up, dryness, no rain in so long. That’s exactly the same recipe we had in Paradise,” Crowder said.
Just over six years later, he once again shares the pain felt across Southern California.
“My wife’s daughter lost her home in the Altadena fire. Our message to her was to go out and buy a house, rent a house, do something but do it now because you’re going to be fighting with you know, 50,000 people looking for the same space you are. And we had that, there was no housing in Butte County. They’re going to experience the same thing,” Crowder said.
