After Camp Fire, funeral homes help others through their losses while enduring their own

CHICO – In the face of the historic loss of life from the Camp Fire, staffs at funeral homes and mortuaries in the region have been working tirelessly to accommodate the influx of victims and give their families the solace and closure that is the hallmark of their profession.

But what happens when the comforters are among the mourning, among the uprooted, among those trying to find steadiness amid all the tragedy?

“We all have our own personal stories. My own house burned down in the fire. My secretary’s house burned, and I have employees displaced,” said Marc Brusie, a Butte Creek Canyon resident and third-generation Chico funeral home owner whose business also runs two area cemeteries.

But helping others through their losses, Brusie said, can provide a source of comfort in itself.

“We feel pretty good about what we do in helping families navigate through this process,” he said. “It’s what we do every day.”

Most of the funeral homes that serve the area affected by the fire have deep roots in the region, and their staffs have drawn from that connection to carry on.

“This is difficult for all of us. We all love the community, we love Butte County, and we’re committed to helping people through the most difficult part of their lives,” said Bob Bracewell, who runs a funeral home in Chico and a second mortuary in Paradise, which was damaged by the fire and rendered inaccessible because of the town’s standing evacuation order.

Bracewell and some of his staff were among those who had to flee the fire as it descended on Magalia, Concow and Paradise, including an employee who rescued several people on her way out of town.

“It’s always been about keeping focus on the family that has lost somebody. Our situation is never as bad as theirs,” he said. “We’re dealing with a double set of grief here. I think a regular loss is overwhelming, but this loss is compounded because we’re seeing the destruction.”