It’s been just over a year since the Carr Fire ripped through Shasta County. Friday evening a ceremony was held at the Sundial Bridge in Redding to remember when the fire moved into the city.
At 7:41p.m.—the exact time a fire tornado took the life of Redding Fire Inspector Jeremy Stoke—all of Shasta County Public Safety took a moment to remember him by airing a Siren Salute that echoed throughout the city.
The Carr Fire tore through Redding destroying more than 1,000 homes and killing eight people, including Stoke on July 26, 2018. The fire began several days earlier in the Whiskeytown Recreation Area and burned 97 percent of the park including 117 structures. New Whiskeytown park Superintendent Josh Hoines—who was not here during the fire—said he wanted to come to the ceremony to help people heal, and to let the community know that the park is open for business.
“The fact that we’re open, and not perfect has been wildly appreciated by most people,” Hoines said. “And I say we’re open but not perfect at Oak Bottom we opened it and we had Porta Potties until just last week. We finished constructing and building and installing a brand new waste water infiltration tank to the tune of almost a half million dollars.”
He said with the flushing toilets, the park is slowly beginning to heal. He hopes to have the trail to Whiskeytown Falls, as well as several others open by Labor Day. And as the community heals, eight homes have been rebuilt in Shasta County and seven in the City of Redding. Several other permits have been issued for both localities. It still remains unclear however, how many others will never return.