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ANDRE BYIK, ANCHOR:
Recovery is coming slower than expected for many in the Dixie Fire burn scar. Earlier this month, one year passed since the fire destroyed much of Greenville and its surrounding communities. NSPR’s Jamie Jiang was in Plumas County on the day of that year mark. She spoke with a longtime resident working to rebuild.
JAMIE JIANG, REPORTER:
Ken Donnell has been a resident of Greenville for more than a decade. When the Dixie Fire went through the community, Donnell managed to get out in time, but he lost a lot. His home, his business …
(SOUNDBITE OF KEN DONNELL) “And especially the community. The community had become my family. And now it's dispersed to the four winds.”
Donnell was one of the organizers of the Dixie Fire anniversary memorial, which took place earlier this month — one year after the fire destroyed Greenville. The event was held across the street from Donnell’s property. We stood there looking at where the fire had burned through, from the mountain ridge to his home.
(SOUNDBITE OF KEN DONNELL) “How many emotions can you bring to the table? They're all there. You know, sadness, joy, hope, loss, grief. Terrible, terrible, terrible, down in your gut just wrenching and also like, oh, wow, we made it through the first year.”
Donnell says rebuilding has been difficult. That’s true for the entire community as well. The Indian Valley Community Services District wrote in an open letter last month that it may be on the brink of insolvency this year. That’s the agency responsible for Greenville’s water, wastewater and fire services. [In an interview with NSPR] the district said 76% of residents have left the community, leaving few behind.
One of them is Donnell. Back at his property, all that’s left of his house are markers in the ground indicating where the foundation once stood. Donnell says the land is in the same shape as it was a year ago. This year, he plans to rebuild his house, and he says he’s actually looking forward to it.
(SOUNDBITE OF KEN DONNELL) “I can stand here. And I know what the floor plan is going to be like, and I can look at this and I go, I could be happy here.”
Donnell’s tempering the grief of fire recovery with optimism. He thinks he can build back better than before. The house the fire took was over 100 years old. He says the new one will be state of the art and upgraded. Even fire resistant.
(SOUNDBITE OF KEN DONNELL) “We have to mind the good things. And you know, and clean up the bad things.”
For NSPR News, I’m Jamie Jiang in Greenville.
Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that the Indian Valley Community Services District wrote in an open letter that it was on the brink of bankruptcy. What the district wrote is that it was on the brink of insolvency.
