The Park Fire devastated Cohasset. Nearly 90% of the homes lost in the fire in Butte County were in the town. But the community hasn’t disappeared.
One year later in the small mountain town just north of Chico, one family is looking forward to a new start. Not somewhere else, but right where they’ve always been.
In the backyard of his son’s home, Germain Boivin points out new growth from nearby trees sprouting up on the ground. Miniature evergreens standing just inches tall are scattered about the property.
“It makes you hopeful to see all the beautiful vegetation coming back. There were so many flowers this spring. It was crazy, and it does make you really hopeful for the future."— Trish Puterbaugh
Boivin and his wife, Trish Puterbaugh, lost their home in the fire. They’d lived there for more than 50 years.
“It was just still a little cabin when we started out, and we added on several times, and we had our children there. We had a pond. The forest was absolutely beautiful surrounding us,” Puterbaugh said.
The town was hit hard by the fire. Cohasset and its surrounding communities saw 233 homes destroyed, according to Cal Fire.
A year later, the debris cleanup is still ongoing. Burned trees are being removed, but patches of green and small plants sprouting up show the forest is beginning to recover.
Puterbaugh said the amount of work yet to be done is overwhelming, but small signs of resilience around her keep her moving forward.
“It makes you hopeful to see all the beautiful vegetation coming back,” Puterbaugh said. “There were so many flowers this spring. It was crazy, and it does make you really hopeful for the future.’
Like the small trees sprouting up from the ground, people are putting down roots again in Cohasset. Most residents aren’t able to rebuild yet with cleanup still underway. But Puterbaugh and Boivin are coming back next month. They’re moving into a house they bought that survived the fire.
“A house is just a shell. You buy one, anywhere, anytime and the most difficult thing is –because we lost everything– we have to start over to make a real home, a place that belongs to you."— Germain Boivin
“The heart of Cohasset is still here,” she said. “That's the main reason we're coming back, is the fabulous people who live here.”
The couple is excited about the move, but also anxious.
“A house is just a shell. You buy one, anywhere, anytime and the most difficult thing is –because we lost everything– we have to start over to make a real home, a place that belongs to you,” Boivin said.
