The Camp Fire sparked around six years ago on Nov. 8, 2018. It killed 85 people and destroyed more than 19,000 structures. The Butte County communities of Paradise, Magalia, Butte Creek Canyon and Concow were devastated.
Amy Rohrer is the Director of Valley Contractors Exchange and has spent the last several years helping rebuild.
“Over the six years there’s been a big shift in who’s actually rebuilding,” Rohrer said. “Early on after the fire, it was predominantly pre-fire owners wanting to return to their properties. We saw that begin to shift in 2022 and into 2023.”
Rohrer said that roughly 50% of homes built on the ridge now are speculative homes, or those built to be sold for profit.
When asked about the challenges to rebuilding, Rohrer said that the rural geography and lack of access present problems to contractors. Properties located in the outer regions of the county are likely to have uneven lots and still be on a septic system.
The compounding effect of multiple fires also makes it difficult to meet the demand for housing. “We’ve lost over 14,000 homes in the Camp Fire, then another, you know, 448 in Park Fire, then another 600 in Dixie Fire, and the North Complex Fire,” Rohrer said. “Basically, we’re losing the houses faster than we can rebuild them.”
Rohrer said there are many programs to assist landowners with the rebuilding process. Preapproved building plans are available from the town of Paradise and Butte County, which save time and money for homeowners. These plans can be approved in a matter of days and homeowners just need to provide an individualized site plan for their building location.
Recovery, like a site plan, does not come as a one size fits all solution. Rohrer emphasized that communities tend to recover in small, incremental steps.
“I think what I'd like people to know about recovery six years after is just that we've still got a lot of work to do,” Rohrer said. “We know that the businesses can't return because the houses haven't returned. The houses are slow at returning because of workforce, insurance, interest rates. And this is going to have a ripple effect.”
