Damage to critical facilities and interdependent recovery of the Paradise community after the Camp Fire of 2018

Communities are encroaching on wildland fire hazard regions as urban areas expand and remote, wild landscapes become more appealing. Paradise, California was leveled in nearly six hours during the Camp Fire in November 2018. This poster will present critical infrastructure damage within the community and aims to monitor ongoing recovery efforts. This work, funded by a Natural Hazards Center Quick Response Grant and an NSF RAPID, examined the wildfire mitigation strategies implemented by schools and hospitals in Paradise, and qualitatively assessed the effect the disruption to the operation of these critical facilities has had on the community. Many structures on the hospital campus in Paradise were damaged.Few schools completely collapsed, but many only sustained isolated damage. The school district has reopened two of its eight physical facilities and is continuing to operate in temporary locations in surrounding communities. This has caused burdens on the Paradise community and surrounding cities. Additionally, heating of plastic pipes and depressurization of the water distribution system during the fire caused water contamination. Without direct access to non-contaminated potable water, schools and other facilities have struggled to reopen throughout Paradise. The recovery efforts of the schools and hospitals are dependent upon one another as well as on the reconstruction of the housing within Paradise. The results of interviews conducted with school and hospital administrators showed that balancing the return of the various critical facilities will be imperative for residents to re-inhabit the town.