Page 5 - Dinuba Serntinel 12-27-18 E-edition

The Dinuba Sentinel
Paradise Continued from Page A1
Community
Thursday, December 27, 2018 | A5
“All we did every day is contact residents, made sure they had the needles off their roof, their firewood was stacked away from the house, and made sure they had a 100-foot clearance away from their house,” said Wilder of his work there. “That’s all we did.”
While he was there, Wilder said the town had three fire stations, manned with four full- time firefighters at each station. In addition, the city also had at least 60 volunteer firefighters. But in 2009 the city experienced an unsurmountable financial shortfall that forced them to close all three stations. The move left the town under the jurisdiction of the nearest Cal Fire Station, about two miles away.
But losing its fire stations also meant the loss of the town’s fire prevention division.
Without people being guided in fire prevention, Wilder believes the town may have gone without a proper raking for nearly a decade, leaving it more vulnerable with an abundance of kindling.
But Paradise’s problem, according to Wilder, was more than just about fire preventative measures. One of the biggest dilemmas for the town was also one of its biggest draws – its location.
The town of Paradise sits just east of the city of Chico, on a
ledge west of the West Branch Canyon, where the Feather River feeds into Lake Oroville. Paradise sits in somewhat of a diamond formation, with one major road in, Skyway Highway.
The problem, according to Wilder, is that a fire climbing up the gorge would leave the town of Paradise sandwiched between an abundance
other communities in just two hours.
Wilder described the fire as a wall of flames three-miles wide.
“When it hit the top (of the canyon) the flames were 200-feet tall,” he explained.
County Officials did not even have enough time to deploy a wireless emergency warning
were brought in by firefighters to cut through the fire line had to be used to push cars off the road so other people could evacuate.
A total of 91 people died in what is being called the worst fire disaster in California and US history.
The fire also consumed about 19,000 structures in a town with a population very similar to Dinuba, around 26,000.
“Consider the entire city of Dinuba, including schools, churches, burning and leaving Viscaya alone,” said Wilder. “That’s about what size the damage was. About 85 percent was gone, and not just destroyed, we’re talking dust, ashes.”
Of the people Wilder still stays in contact with, a few families, all lost their homes. One friend lost his uncle and aunt in the Camp Fire.
As to whether continued fire preventative measures would have made a difference, Wilder said though he believes it may have saved more homes, because of the other overwhelming conditions, the fire would still have been devastating. And as for rebuilding, Wilder believes maybe half of town’s people will return to rebuild.
Regarding the rise in recent state fire disasters, Wilder said, “California wildfires are becoming increasingly extreme – in some cases unstoppable.”
of fire fodder. Combine that with dry conditions from years of drought and strong winds and the fire on Nov. 8 created the perfect storm.
“When the
fire crested over
the canyon,
firefighter had
prepared for
the flames
to flank the foothill city,” said Wilder. “But extreme winds, plus plenty of dry fuel, caught everyone off guard.”
He said that by 8:30 a.m. that fateful Thursday morning, embers the size of dinner plates began falling in the town of Paradise. He explained that the fire almost instantly started 100 spot fires in the town, and that the wind had driven the fire across 40 miles and at least four
system. The only warning people received were by way of reverse 911 calls and door-to-door knocks.
The city had long ago created a phased evacuation plan that was designed to keep traffic moving on
the narrow, single-land roads of Paradise. Without time to implement that plan, the roads of Paradise clogged with burning vehicles as the fire outran the evacuations.
“The fire was burning up vehicles and homes ahead of the people who were trying to escape,” said Wilder.
This forced people to abandon their vehicles in the roads and run for safety. Bulldozers that
Assembyman Mathis releases statement after rampage shooting
Contributed
Assemblyman Devon Mathis (R-Visalia) issued the following statement condemning California’s sanctuary state law that forced the Tulare County Sheriff to release Junior “Gustavo” Garcia-Ruiz, a twice-deported felon, from jail, after which Ruiz went on a day-long crime spree that included murdering an innocent person and shooting at others:
“The blame for this tragedy lies squarely on the politicians who pushed for this radical sanctuary state law. Before SB 54, dangerous criminals would be turned over to federal authorities to be removed from the country. Now they’re turned
loose into our community, and this is the sad but foreseeable result.
“I support immigrants who come to America to follow the law and build a better life for them. That’s not what this is about.
“This is about keeping people safe and giving local law enforcement the tools they need to protect our community. When the Legislature comes back into session in January, one of my top priorities will be finding a responsible balance that protects both public safety and law-abiding immigrants - legislation to follow.”
Assemblymember Devon J. Mathis represents the 26th Assembly District, which includes the communities of Tulare, Inyo, and Kern Counties.
"Consider the entire city of Dinuba, including schools, churches, burning and leaving Viscaya alone. That's about what size the damage was."
— DPD Officer Mark Wilder
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Before becoming a police officer for the Dinuba Police Department, Mark Wilder spent 11 years working as a volunteer firefighter for the town of Paradise. His job while working in Paradise was fire prevention, where he helped the residents keep their homes safe from the threat of possible forrest fires.
Rick Curiel | The Sentinel
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