Staying alive: Why Californians are escaping nation鈥檚 biggest wildfire
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Ali Martin Staff writer
| Chico, Calif.
Adora Molina knows fire. Six years ago when a fire raged through her town of Magalia, California, she waited until the last minute to evacuate. Her car wasn鈥檛 working that morning. So her husband, who had left for work already, defied authorities to go back to the house to get her.聽
This time, when an evacuation warning came, they grabbed their go bags and left right away.聽
Like other residents聽facing wildfires this week 鈥� the Quarry Fire in Colorado鈥檚 Jefferson County and others now burning in the West 鈥� she and her husband went聽in search of emergency shelter.
Why We Wrote This
Wildfires, like other extreme events, teach important lessons in safety and adaptation. In the recent Park Fire, which has burned some 400,000 acres, more Californians are now heeding evacuation orders and leaving danger zones swiftly.
The , burning in Northern California since July 24, has consumed nearly 400,000 acres and is the largest active wildfire in the United States. Thousands of people living in the communities that dot this forest landscape have evacuated their homes 鈥撀爏eeking refuge in hotels, with friends or relatives, or in emergency shelters like one at the Neighborhood Church here in the city of Chico.聽
After three days at the evacuation shelter, Ms. Molina says she鈥檚 tired but grateful for food and a safe place to rest. She鈥檚 ready to go home. But the fire could shift at any moment 鈥� and they鈥檙e not taking any chances.聽聽
Devastating as it is, people are adapting. Residents like Ms. Molina are paying closer attention to 鈥� and heeding 鈥� evacuation orders and getting better at swift exits from danger zones. Many current evacuees survived the 2018 Camp Fire, which killed 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise, just 20 minutes away. So they have learned wildfire lessons as well.
While the lessons have gone beyond the public鈥檚 obedience and speed in response to official warnings, it鈥檚 notable that in the current wildfire here, no deaths have been reported. Residents may be weary as well as wary. But they are also resilient.聽
鈥淐ommunities that surround a park footprint ... have had a lot of exposure,鈥� says Yana Valachovic, a scientist and wildfire adviser.
No strangers to wildfire
In fact, the Park Fire is聽 in state history, spanning four California counties.
Living at the nexus of five national forests, where wildfire is a near-constant risk, people affected by the fires have in some cases escaped with their lives but little else.
鈥淲e burned out. We don鈥檛 have nothing left on the property,鈥� says Susan Singleton, who evacuated the home she shares with her partner in Cohasset. This time, when the fire began raging through their community, they got out with their seven dogs and a few other things that fit in their small SUV.
People from Cohasset, Magalia, and other towns under threat have arrived in cars, trucks, and motor homes to set up camp in the sprawling church parking lot nearby. The Red Cross supplies three meals a day, showers, and cots that fill a large church hall.
Growing fire, growing awareness
More than reside in wildland urban interface zones, and experts say that聽wildfire threats are growing. The frequency聽of extreme fires has more than doubled since 2003, according to a .
Residents in wildfire areas of California and Oregon are well aware of the threat: Eighty-four percent are concerned about wildfire鈥檚 effects, according to a聽.
鈥淭hey perceive that they have a risk,鈥� says Michele Steinberg, wildfire division director at the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), which conducted the study. 鈥滱nd they鈥檙e relatively motivated to do something about it.鈥澛�
Education is a challenge. Only half of residents in these vulnerable areas say they know how to protect their homes from wildfire 鈥� even here in California, which has had decades of policies aimed at fire mitigation. And fewer than half of those surveyed regularly take simple steps 鈥� such as clearing flammable items from their home鈥檚 perimeter, thinning trees, and keeping gutters clear of debris 鈥� to protect their homes, and themselves.聽
鈥淭hat is where people are getting stuck,鈥� says Ms. Steinberg. 鈥淭he biggest reasons are affordability and not knowing what to do.鈥�
Education and marketing campaigns aim to move the preparedness needle. Programs like the NFPA鈥檚 illustrate commonsense steps that prevent or slow the spread of fire, and government agencies like Cal Fire .
鈥淭his will happen鈥澛�
Ms. Valachovic, the wildfire consultant, says recognition and awareness in high-risk communities is an important first step. She, too, has her eye on education: Ms. Valachovic, also a county director for the University of California Cooperative Extension, recently taught 30 K-12 teachers about fire adaptation.
The insurance industry, she adds, is forcing conversations about home protections amid a crisis in homeowners insurance, related in part to extreme disaster payouts.聽
Adaptation, she explains, means people who live in wildfire zones can start to replace worry with preparation. They think, 鈥淭his will happen. I鈥檝e got all my stuff. My house is ready. My community knows what to do ... and I鈥檝e got my act together,鈥� she says.聽
Ms. Molina, the Magalia resident who retreated to shelter, shows similar determination.
鈥淚t鈥檚 so out of control right now, this fire,鈥� she says. Still, she wouldn鈥檛 live anywhere else and plans to return home. The pull of home and family is stronger than her fears.聽
鈥淢y feet are grounded here,鈥� says Ms. Molina. 鈥淢y kids are here; my grandkids are here. ... I mean, wherever you move, you鈥檙e going to take risks.鈥澛�
