Regenerating Paradise has a plan for recovery
As local entities push fire prevention methods, groups are researching new ways to rebuild given fire risks.
As local entities encourage fire prevention methods on the ridge, groups are researching new ways to rebuild given ongoing fire risks.
The nonprofit Regenerating Paradise released a vision plan in March for “a firewise community with ample housing for returning residents and newcomers, a thriving and diverse economy that provides for livelihoods and nurtures the resources of our unique ecosystem, facilities for art, performance, education, and wellness that support quality of life and bolster community ties.”
“Bringing community together can have profound consequences down the line,” Executive Director Allen Myers said.
Shortly after the Camp Fire, Regenerating Paradise began convening community members to share their sorrows and hopes for the future, and Myers made the short film, “A Message From the Future of Paradise.”
The organization now works to coordinate efforts among different local groups to keep up communication between community members, but there’s still a lot of need, he said.
“There’s this gap that exists. That those that need the most help or resources are often those that are hardest to reach.” Myers said he still gets calls from people in need of basic needs assistance or quick cash aid and meanwhile organizations that can help are largely volunteer based with donation aid.
So the nonprofit began working to explore ideas for long term sustainable ways to help marginalized populations, such as with needs for housing and jobs.
Majdi Abou Najm, associate professor from UC Davis’ Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, said Thursday that Paradise is identified as one of the areas exhibiting a climate disaster aftermath and a need for re-imagining climate resilience. He began working with Meyers’ nonprofit in part to “show the whole world a city that was completely destroyed can stand up and re-imagine itself in a more sustainable, fire resistant way.”
Integrating the community with nature is key to some of the proposals they are considering to soon share with the community for input, such as encouraging regenerative industries to pursue reduced use of carbon.
“We are meeting on a very regular basis … trying to identify what are the governing design aspirations that the community of Paradise would be interested in adopting,” he said. For example, discussion of biomass facilities for energy production as a regenerative resource and industry is a big part of these discussions.
“It’s a regenerative resource that will create jobs, … and it will also basically reduce the risk of fire, integrating forest management into creating job opportunities,” Najm said.
“Instead of using classic wood which burns easily, we’re looking at building blocks using local soils and materials, and different renewable energy resources,” he added. Incorporating the risk of fire into the new design of the town and community requires a “whole paradigm shift in the way we look at it.”
“Instead of thinking of it as a threat, we can think of it as an opportunity,” he said.
Myers added the nonprofit is also applying for a grant with North Valley Community Foundation and recently got a letter of support from the town of Paradise.
Focusing on issues
Wolfy Rougle, Forest Health Watershed Coordinator at the Butte County Resource Conservation District, said the Butte County Fire Safe Council and other entities are already looking into a biomass facility.
“Getting a biomass facility in the county is really important and the Fire Safe Council has been working on that for a while, to try to make that a reality,” she said.
But the focus right now is on local risk mitigation and rebuilding the landscape. The council is working with local land owners on current fire mitigation, although it’s growing late in the season to continue with controlled burn projects. Rougle said planning for next year, such as for planting trees and burning private land where needed, is already the “best bet” and the district will assist homeowners by assessing properties to get them started.
“I would really encourage people to plan out their land care and timing with the natural year and be ready to go as soon as it cools off in the fall,” she advised. “We do work with private land owners, but we also work with the U.S. Forest Service, Cal Fire-Butte County and the city of Chico for planning larger (long term vegetation management) projects.”
“Even with the drought, you still look around at the woodland and grasslands around Butte County, and the woodlands that are thinned or have already had fire burns … different landscapes react to the drought differently,” she said. “Those in resilient conditions are in better positions.”
Butte County Resource Conservation District is also working with creating the council’s forest health handbook, with designs for what a recovered ridge in the burn scar could look like, which is expected be released by July.