Suffering in Paradise

The following editorial appeared in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

It makes sense that the Federal Emergency Management Agency generally requires fire disaster areas be evacuated so that cleanup efforts can proceed unimpeded. But the city of Paradise is a prime example of why FEMA officials should be flexible, not inhumane, in applying the policy.

After the Camp fire ravaged Butte County, FEMA officials used a threat of withholding $1.7 billion in federal cleanup funds to force county supervisors and the Paradise City Council to revoke their temporary rules that had allowed people to live in their RVs on their burned-out lots.

A much better approach would have been for federal, state and local officials to work out a compromise to provide a safe area for RVs. That easily could have involved expediting and/or modifying the inspection phase of the cleanup process. Lots can be cleared of dangerous debris in two days, but inspections to certify their safety can take two weeks. Allowing RVs on cleaned-but-notinspected lots would have been a legitimate bending of the rules in the wake of this disaster.

Butte County residents suffered terribly in the November blaze that killed 86 people and destroyed nearly 12,000 homes. Many speak despairingly of ruined lives. They need compassion as well as aid from the federal government. And after it acknowledged that it botched its response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in October 2017, FEMA needs to do all it can to avoid more embarrassment.

That’s why FEMA Administrator Brock Long should direct his agency to be more flexible. And given how massive wildfires have become a part of life in California, FEMA and state officials should huddle and try to come up with fresh thinking about how to respond to disasters like the one in Paradise. Just about anywhere in California could be hit next.