CAMP FIRE ANIMAL MEMORIAL UNVEILED

A crowd of over 50 people gathered in Billie Park, where a memorial service was held before the covered memorial and in front of a view of the ridge.

PARADISE » More than three years since the deadly 2018 Camp Fire leveled the town of Paradise, a memorial was unveiled dedicated to honoring and mourning the lost lives of thousands of animals that were either killed or never found.

More than 50 people gathered in Billie Park, where a memorial service was held before the covered

memorial and in front of a view of the ridge.

The effort to create the monument began almost a week after the Camp Fire occurred. The task was spearheaded by Gina Chauffer and Paradise Animal Shelter Helpers (PASH).

“We reviewed several sites — some at community parks, some adjacent to the dog park, but when we walked Billie Park, we thought it was serene, had great access, and it was a no-brainer.

We wanted to build here,” said Steve Rodowick, Vice President of PASH.

According to Shaeffer, with the help of donations, local businesses and volunteers, the project came out to cost around $25,000.

“I didn’t have a car and I had all my animals gathered, but he wouldn’t come and I kept trying to get him, but he’d run away,” said Monica Brinkman, who brought a picture of her gray cat Stubby to the service. “My neighbor

came out and told me that they would take my animals and me, and I just couldn’t get him. They told me we just had to go and that he’d be okay but they never found him.”

After the shrine was unveiled, several attendees gathered closer to the monument to reach the stone’s message and lay down pictures of their lost pets.

“Rest now and until we see each other again, in my heart, I

will hold you my dear pet, my best friend,” was written on the sign.

Kathy Green, who had moved to Paradise six months before the fire, had acquired five cats that were strays. During the Camp Fire, she had only been able to get one cat evacuated, leaving the other four — Pound Cake, Road Runner, Fifi and Jimmy behind. At the memorial, Green brought a handmade shrine to honor her animals that had yet to be found since the tragedy hit the town more than three years ago.

“Jimmy was a shy, yet curious. He had soft and fluffy fur.,” said the shrine written by Green. “He was also caught in a trap along with her sister, Pound Cake. I will never forget him, or myself for leaving him behind,” Green wrote.

KIMBERLY MORALES — ENTERPRISE-RECORD Gina Schaeffer helped mobilize a team of people to create a memorial that would honor the lives of animals lost in the 2018Camp Fire

PHOTOS BY KIMBERLY MORALES — ENTERPRISE-RECORD Gina Schaeffer helped mobilize a team of people to create a memorial that would honor the lives of animals lost in the 2018Camp Fire.

Monica Brinkman brought a photograph of her late cat, Stuffy who she lost in the 2018Camp Fire to the memorial service at Billie Park on April 24in Paradise.

Ellen Michels and Steve Rondorick from Paradise Animal Shelter Helpers unveiled the new memorial for pets and wildlife at Billie Park in Paradise.