Rebuilding Paradise
Reconstruire la ville de Paradise
Paradise, la ville californienne détruite par l’incendie Camp Fire.
En novembre dernier, la Californie a été confrontée à deux nouveaux feux de forêts destructeurs, le Woolsey Fire et le Camp Fire. Ce dernier aurait fait 85 morts, devenant l’incendie le plus meurtrier de l’histoire de l’état américain. Il a également détruit la totalité de Paradise, une petite ville de 26 000 habitants. Comment la communauté de Paradise prévoit-elle de reconstruire la ville ?
The last time Jerry Garcia saw his home of nearly 20 years, flames almost 12ft tall were consuming it. It happened fast – the wind-driven Camp fire moved across the Feather River Canyon in northern California with a speed even experienced firefighters like Garcia had rarely seen. Soon the entire town of Paradise would be enveloped by a firestorm “raining hell down”, the Butte county sheriff, Kory Honea, would later say. There would be no time to save the town; all efforts in the first eight hours of the fire, which was spreading at a rate greater than a football field a minute, would focus on rescuing people.
2. The Camp fire, named for the road near its origin, would become the most destructive fire in state history, and the deadliest, killing at least 63 people, and with hundreds unaccounted for. More than 9,800 homes have been destroyed by the fire, largely in Paradise, a town of 27,000. Also gone are 366 commercial buildings, and a third of the town’s schools.
3. There is much to rebuild, but before that can begin, authorities must finish sifting through the ashes to find what’s left of those who didn’t make it out in time. Some may never be recovered, and returning evacuees may find remains that authorities missed, the sheriff has warned.
A LONG PROCESS
4. Still, residents are eager to return home, or at least to the rubble that remains. But how does a town, nearly wiped off the map, rise from the ashes? It’s a question with no easy answers. Since the disaster began, local government
officials have emphasized the commitment to rebuilding the town, even though its location means that fire is always a risk. But it will probably take at least five to 10 years to restore the town, and it may take longer for individual residents, said Robert B Olshansky, an expert in post-disaster recovery.
5. The town can’t be rebuilt the way it was, federal officials have warned the county, but some have a hopeful vision for its future, that it could have newer schools, a sewer system instead of outdated septic tanks – and be safer from fires. “If we’re going to rebuild, we’re going to rebuild a community where this never happens,” the former fire chief and town evacuation operations coordinator, Jim Broshears, said.
A BURNABLE LANDSCAPE
6. The risk of fire has always been present in the forested area, high in the Sierra foothills and surrounded by canyons on two sides. The town has experienced at least four evacuations due to fire in 10 years. Close to 200 homes were lost in 2008 fires. But this was a worst-case scenario. Now, as the community prepares to rebuild, it can construct safer, more modern buildings, and perhaps look at how its forests are managed, Broshears said. “We have an opportunity to build the forests in the model of pre-European [settlement] conditions. That is going to be a more resilient forest.”
7. Fire is a process that Californians have to live with, manage and stop thinking of as a foe, Thomas Scott, an expert on wildfire at the University of California, Berkeley, said. With most fuel in the area burned up, Paradise will probably be safe from fire for awhile, but not forever, and the rest of the state is at risk much of the year. “I don’t want to sound heartless but we just have to accept when you live in a burnable landscape, especially if the climate is changing, it may be when your house burns and not if your house burns,” Scott said.
A NEW PARADISE
8. Rebuilding starts once the fire is extinguished, and then hazardous ash and rubble cleaned up, which could take as long as a year. Butte county has begun advising residents on what to do when they return, though they acknowledge that could be weeks or months away. There is almost no gas, electricity or safe water, and no emergency services, although the police station and fire station survived, as did the town hall. The air is hazardous, risk of falling tree limbs ongoing, and what’s left of homes, incinerated belongings and kitchen appliances, is probably toxic.
9. Once residents are permitted to return, few will have anywhere to stay. Because it was a fire that destroyed the town, chances of successful rebuilding are much higher compared with other disasters, Olshansky said, thanks to insurance. Support from the state and federal government, through loans and funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will aid the town in its recovery, including constructing new public buildings. Paradise unified school district, which lost at least three of its nine schools, with others sustaining significant damage, will rebuild. Schools are key, Olshansky said; residents typically return to areas hit by disaster if schools continue to operate.
10. The town is working on streamlining the process of building inspections and permits, the mayor, Jody Jones, said. Thinking about it longterm is tough, the mayor added, but the town will rebuild. “We have our people, they’re more important than any things,” Jones said.
town hall hôtel de ville, mairie / limb branche / ongoing ici, toujours présent / belongings affaires, effets personnels / appliance appareil (électroménager). 9. insurance assurance / support soutien (financier) / loan prêt / funding financement, subvention / school district (aux É.-U.) autorité chargée de gérer les écoles sur un territoire déterminé / to sustain subir / significant important. 10. to streamline simplifier / mayor maire / tough difficile.
Fire is a process that Californians have to live with.