‘What are the odds?’ California family lost one home to wildfire in 2018 — and a second in 2024
It was frightening, and all too familiar. The family had previously been forced to flee as a wildfire bore down on another mountain town they called home: Paradise.
Now, with their path blocked and a horizon swallowed by flames, Kristy had an eerie feeling they were going to lose all they’d fought to build.
“I kind of knew then, like, we’re never coming home again — again, again,” she said.
The Camp fire, the deadliest in California history, devastated Paradise in 2018, consuming thousands of homes, including the Daneaus’.
They relocated to the town of Cohasset, putting them in the direct path of another wildfire, one that has since become the state’s fifth largest on record. Within just six years, the family again found themselves in jeopardy.
The trio eventually made it to safety, trekking seven hours down an unpaved loggers’ road to Chico. But their home in Cohasset was no match for an inferno’s fury.
“We’re starting completely over, again,” said Michael Daneau, 41. Every property they’ve ever owned has “burned to the ground with no value and nothing to our name.”
It sucks but people have to start taking wildfire risk into account when choosing where to live. It’s the same as considering flood risk, earthquake risk, mudslide risk, etc.
Concrete production is one of the big culprits in climate change. But maybe this could be done with rammed earth, sustainably harvested timber, and dry-stone masonry.
More like, don’t build in fire prone areas and, if you do, proper fire mitigation is key (like a tree less barrier around your home). Forest fires are a natural occurrence which enriches soil and part of how pines seed themselves.
It’s not like fires in California are a new phenomenon. The first one wasn’t their fault, sure. The second has shown them the risk and frequency of fires in the area they live. If they rebuild there again then yes, the consequences of any more fire damage or loss of property are completely their fault.
Yeah im sure they could just use their spare 2 million dollars they had sitting around after the Camp fire to buy a home in a safer area in northern California. Easy peasy.
i read animals need three takes to understand.
there was an experiment with a mole and some tunnels and electric charges in the 80s i think and they found out 3 is the magic number in learning curves for dumb animals.