Last November, the Camp Fire in California killed 86 people — the deadliest wildfire in the state's history. Three months later, the devastated town of Paradise is severely scarred but trying to move on.
Image: Getty Images/Justin Sullivan
Devastation
The Camp Fire was the deadliest wildfire in the USA in 100 years and the world's costliest natural disaster in 2018. On November 8, the fire took light and spread incredibly quickly due to a range of factors, including high winds. By the time it reached the town of Paradise, many, including those who tried to escape in their cars (above), did not have enough time to escape the flames.
Image: picture-alliance/Zumapress/H. Amezcua
Scorched earth
The wildfire destroyed most of Paradise, a town with a population of 26,000. Much of the adjacent Magalia, Butte Creek Canyon, and Concow communities were also destroyed. On the day the fire began, Scott McLean, a California Fire Captain, said, "We're talking devastated. The town center is completely on the ground. The south side as well as the north side has been hit very hard as well."
Image: Getty Images/Justin Sullivan
Still standing
Shane Grammer, an artist from the nearby town of Chico, went to Paradise on New Year's Eve and painted a mural of a woman on a friend's chimney — all that was left of the house — in a part of the town that had been destroyed by the blaze. "When my buddy Shane posted photos, the only thing standing was his chimney, it was perfect," said Grammer. "I was like, 'I gottta paint that chimney.'"
Image: Getty Images/Justin Sullivan
Love among the ruins
"I wanted to paint something that brought hope in the middle of complete destruction," Grammer wrote. Residents of the town were so moved by the artistic expression on the chimney that several survivors of the fire asked the artist to come back and paint more. So he did, painting images on whatever free-standing structures he could find among the ruins.
Image: Getty Images/Justin Sullivan
Haunting images
Grammer always gets permission from whoever owns the structure before painting on it. His murals are almost exclusively of people, some of whom died in the fire, and others who survived. "I’m happy to be a small part of bringing hope and joy to this community and to these people who have gone through so much," he said.
Image: Getty Images/Justin Sullivan
Looking beyond the flames
Described as a "worst case scenario" event by Butte County Sheriff Kory L. Honea, some attributed the severity of the fire to the gradual buildup of the effects of climate change. US President Donald Trump was not one of them. He blamed the fire on California forest management.
Image: Getty Images/Justin Sullivan
The road ahead
Daniel Swain, who works at the University of California-Los Angeles’ Center for Climate Science, wrote the following: "If Northern California had received anywhere near the typical amount of autumn precipitation this year (around 4-5 inches of rain near #CampFire point of origin), explosive fire behavior & stunning tragedy in #Paradise would almost certainly not have occurred."
Image: Getty Images/Justin Sullivan
Remembering
Grammer's work in Paradise serves as a reminder that even after such a devastating event as the Camp Fire, beauty can bloom again. It also serves a more pointed purpose of memorial, as seen in this image, of a mural showing a woman who lost her life in the fire.
Last year, the deadliest wildfire season in Californian history ripped through almost 2 million acres of woodland in the northern part of the state. The deadliest fire was the Camp Fire in November, which killed 86 people and left three more still missing.
The town of Paradise, in the Sierra Nevada foothills above the northeastern Sacramento Valley, was utterly devastated by the fire. At least 38 people from the town died, while many thousands of people were displaced. The charred remains of the town have now become the site for a haunting set of murals, which reflect the tragedy and trauma of the horrific event. They have also brought solace to survivors.
