Forced from Paradise: Life after one of California's deadliest wildfires

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  • Опубліковано 22 сер 2024
  • Holly Ratliff is one of about 50,000 people who fled their homes when the Camp Fire swept through the Sierra Nevada foothills in California last November. Thousands have scattered across the country - some to communities in California like Lake Almanor and others as far away as Florida and Hawaii.
    Americans rarely think about internally displaced populations. But the single mother of three is part of a growing population of Americans, uprooted from their communities by natural disasters and forced to reestablish themselves in new settings.
    Ratliff fought to stay in the town she grew up in surrounded by her family- even if it meant that on some nights she did not know where she would sleep. SPECIAL OFFER: To thank you for your support, here’s a deal on a Washington Post digital subscription: $29 for one year washingtonpost.....
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 128

  • @shirleyandrews1152
    @shirleyandrews1152 3 роки тому +5

    Bless my neighbor who woke me & told me to evacuate. And those who came to help.
    Most of all my precious cousins who took me in until I could get an.
    I’m too old, 79, to deal with the stress of rebuilding . So sad, tears still come when I see the videos & visit my land.

  • @katieejeann2139
    @katieejeann2139 2 роки тому +9

    Why would that lady tell people to leave the animals behind? That’s their pet. Bring it with you

  • @twoshea749
    @twoshea749 3 роки тому +3

    Paradise is my town

  • @D347h54rg3n7
    @D347h54rg3n7 4 роки тому +6

    $3k a month for a hotel room, so there is government help for their survival, way to go California

    • @LINJ638
      @LINJ638 Рік тому

      Gov't does not care about you.

  • @scottholman3982
    @scottholman3982 4 роки тому +4

    Such a needless tragedy, directly caused by greed and negligence. But having your house in the trees like the house in Magalia is a recipe for disaster. No fire department on Earth could have saved Paradise on that day.

    • @maxsmith695
      @maxsmith695 Рік тому

      Wrong. Wildland fires do not reduce homes to white ash.

  • @dianeowen5258
    @dianeowen5258 5 років тому +7

    "It's a hard rain's a gonna fall". B Dylan

  • @sabrina.natalie
    @sabrina.natalie Рік тому +1

    The most devastating thing, was that the Camp Fire tragedy - and the senseless murders - was so preventable! Had PG & E not been so incompetent, negligent, and greedy, they could have prevented these murders! 💔

  • @AJLoops
    @AJLoops 5 років тому +12

    I usually wouldn't say come to Idaho there's a bit of an inside joke that we say we're full cuz we like her small towns but there is a lot of cheap affordable houses in this area especially East Idaho and there's a lot a lot of it being built right now for those who were displaced if you're able to I would try to find a rental in this area because we have the space and jobs

    • @yvonnerahmes9618
      @yvonnerahmes9618 5 років тому +9

      Alyssa Lackey: As I read comments I thought yours was particularly kind. It gives me hope, I appreciate a kind voice in the midst of this all...

    • @whocanseeyourname2699
      @whocanseeyourname2699 5 років тому +3

      Thank you,this does give alot of us hope in this area 😇 and we need hope right now..

    • @patricialucious5091
      @patricialucious5091 4 роки тому

      A.J. Loops Won’t help u for long Esau.

    • @montanamtngirl
      @montanamtngirl 4 роки тому

      Where are there cheap properties in Idaho? There aren't any in Southwest Idaho. I feel very sorry for all the people of Paradise that lost their homes, it's just a heartbreaking situation. I know she did not mention about moving to Idaho . But we don't even have enough housing for the low income residents that are already here. And anybody that wants to move here now they're going to be living in expensive rental apartments because that's all that's being built. It's disgusting, we need to just stop building. This area is just getting too overcrowded.😥😓

    • @montanamtngirl
      @montanamtngirl 4 роки тому

      @Cale Lambert exactly!! And this is supposed to be a bad fire season.

  • @thegardenoffragileegos1845
    @thegardenoffragileegos1845 5 років тому +6

    "Low income seniors and adults" - translation: the reason why they let it rot.

  • @nicolereardon8304
    @nicolereardon8304 4 місяці тому

    We evacuated from GardenView in Paradise, and within a week had settled with family in Southern Oregon. My mother has Parkinson's, and doctors said she couldn't handle the stress of rebuilding. 5+ years later, I am THANKFUL we left California. Between PG&E, government screwups, etc, my mother wouldn't have made it. I miss Paradise, but even with rebuilding, the Paradise I knew is gone 😢

  • @annietran4529
    @annietran4529 3 роки тому +3

    I would never leave my dog behind! Hell no!

    • @UncoordinatedPixie
      @UncoordinatedPixie 2 роки тому +1

      That 911 operator needs to be punched in the face. How dare she say that.

  • @Philljag
    @Philljag 2 роки тому +2

    That operator actually said leave the dogs inside and go? That’s sick leave them burn to death 😡

  • @SizemicKick177
    @SizemicKick177 3 роки тому +1

    I have hearing issues and can't tell what they are saying too well because of music -_- can you make it quieter?instead of just trying to increase emotional effect for ratings ...

  • @TheBandit7613
    @TheBandit7613 4 роки тому +4

    She's not starving, that's for sure.
    Sometimes you have to help yourself and make a new start somewhere else. Somewhere people understand fire mitigation. That town was a disaster waiting for a spark.

  • @nitefox4411
    @nitefox4411 4 роки тому +4

    Over protected mother on section 8 wondering why life is so hard and unfair? Years of work and planning of my life went into Paradise. It was all just "stuff" though. One cannot imagine what that town looked like unless they stood in the ashes. Maybe a child psychologist with Medical told her not to show the children the home? "The kids want to finish school here." "Do you want to go see the house?" "Do you believe me when I say it is gone?" Playing with a child's emotions to keep the fantasy of "going back home" when it isn't there anymore. You have done a spectacular job "keeping it all together" but your kids are more resilient than you will allow...or perhaps a Medical child psychologist suggested. Take them to the house and show them. Be a mother to them when they realize what you can't grasp yet either. It is gone. A Universal whallop. You are rebuilding now and you are all alive. They will not resent what you could not control unless you have already unfairly spoiled them. No one could stop that fire and especially not government officials. Paradise had better plans than most towns but it was not enough. Learn to re-build life anyway.

    • @raymondfrye5017
      @raymondfrye5017 4 роки тому +1

      @Wahu __ Ýou haven't been to Australia. Ask about Black Saturday.

  • @ralemc1960
    @ralemc1960 2 роки тому +1

    California management is crazy. They are supposed to be so rich they have their own economy. But the failures to help their own. Smh.

  • @jclar3565
    @jclar3565 4 роки тому +2

    Thats how I lived in California before the fires. And I had an income. It's more a California problem than a fire problem

  • @williejohnson5172
    @williejohnson5172 11 місяців тому

    3:35 I understand the director added the shoe for dramatic effect, but he unknowingly highlighted the physical absurdity of what he was filming. The house and all the contents burned to the ground subjected to thousands of degrees of heat but a doll's plastic shoe survived the inferno unscathed.

  • @ZENMASTERME1
    @ZENMASTERME1 5 років тому +15

    @2:11 The paradise fire which I was in, it will go down in the history books as the first forest fire to burn down my entire town but leave all the trees standing!!
    I personally have a picture of two cars burned so badly that the engines had melted and pooled on the ground. But standing directly in the middle of those two cars is a trashcan full of dry autumn leaves completely unburned!
    In the 50 years I have lived in Northern California I have never witnessed in my entire life a forest fire that did not burn most of the forest trees to the ground.
    It’s my opinion that this tragic fire is part of agenda 21.

    • @c.l.freeman7654
      @c.l.freeman7654 5 років тому +3

      Now people will scoff and moan but check out Dr. Judy Wood and UA-cam video "where did the towers go" and it explains the phenomenon. Just like all those papers that never burned or one half of a car would be fine and the other burnt to a crisp with all the metal completely gone. Dont have to buy what its saying but just compare to what you saw with your own eyes and make your own conclusions

    • @guerillagardner3876
      @guerillagardner3876 5 років тому +2

      Looks like a D.E.W. job to clear people out of the land that some bigger fish really want!

    • @patricialucious5091
      @patricialucious5091 4 роки тому +1

      Neffie Yeah like The Most High Yah. Better recognize.

    • @cursedwithsetience4017
      @cursedwithsetience4017 4 роки тому +1

      Zenmasterme Fire is freaking weird, and trees in the regions have had millions of years to adapt to the wildfires.

    • @maxsmith695
      @maxsmith695 Рік тому

      @@c.l.freeman7654 Correct. It was a fire that had several unconventional components and people want to assume all such fires must be the same. It completely baffled the 1000 fire fighters and many of them have fought fires for 35 years. None are authorized to talk in public about it.
      Safe to park the drought BS cover story and bark beetle nonsense. The idea Paradise was a tinderbox is also nonsense. They get lots of rain in the winter.

  • @jameslowe971
    @jameslowe971 5 років тому +10

    Speak for yourself! You better wake up every morning and look around you to see that you don’t live in paradise. No one does anywhere. This is going to be all of us one day.

    • @Angel-tw3ko
      @Angel-tw3ko 5 років тому +3

      @GamingTV he is right, things will get worse ... this world will be destroyed by fire.. Jesus is coming back for a church without a spot or wrinkle.. please repent and be baptized before it's too late!

    • @Angel-tw3ko
      @Angel-tw3ko 5 років тому +3

      @GamingTV Jesus rose three days later and He will come back again, read Revelations about the signs to watch for! Jesus iis alive and well!

    • @Angel-tw3ko
      @Angel-tw3ko 5 років тому +4

      @GamingTV you should otherwise you'll be lost

    • @Angel-tw3ko
      @Angel-tw3ko 5 років тому +3

      @GamingTV no, no one brainwashed me, the devil is fooling you.. better wake up before time runs out

    • @Angel-tw3ko
      @Angel-tw3ko 5 років тому +3

      @GamingTV I'd rather live with Jesus and go to heaven, then to live my life in the world and go to hell. You can't play with Jesus, He is too powerful. God holds your life in His hands, better be careful.. and I'll pray for your soul .. hopefully you will change your life and live for God.

  • @perrysims3320
    @perrysims3320 4 роки тому +5

    What does her tobacco addiction cost per month? Why doesn't she use her seat belt when she drives. That stuff detracts from my empathy.

    • @paitesmith9133
      @paitesmith9133 4 роки тому +1

      Perry Sims I noticed that, too... and the Starbucks... but I guess those things bring comfort, too.

    • @cursedwithsetience4017
      @cursedwithsetience4017 4 роки тому +5

      Perry Sims people have to cope, in one way or another. Living in such a stressful situation requires it. Let the woman be human.

    • @mikexxxmilly
      @mikexxxmilly 3 роки тому

      Yeah, complaints about her stupid house when people’s family will never come home. Selfish af

  • @melvina628
    @melvina628 5 років тому +3

    A fresh location is mentally refreshing. The kids can change schools at any time.

    • @Patricia-zt8ub
      @Patricia-zt8ub 5 років тому +5

      If you can find a job.

    • @patricialucious5091
      @patricialucious5091 4 роки тому

      melvina628 The Most High Yah will chase u down where-ever u go. He will find ur secret hiding places.

  • @Pokemon_lugia-tc9eg
    @Pokemon_lugia-tc9eg 3 місяці тому

    That poor woman being told to leave her dogs to die..sorry but no..they’re loved are just as special as any humans..I would have taken them with me

  • @leanneadams2549
    @leanneadams2549 8 місяців тому

    You went there with flip flops on ?

  • @wingsonmyback1
    @wingsonmyback1 11 місяців тому

    I hope she found a home to move into.

  • @dannmarceau
    @dannmarceau 5 років тому +4

    Geographically speaking, she's looking in the wrong place.

  • @christelle7484
    @christelle7484 2 місяці тому

    Back in the time when there was a calamity of this scale, people were praying and seeking for God's forgiveness and mercy. They genuinely believed that those disasters were punishment from God because of their sins. Now in the modern days, people believe that its due to human negligence and irresponsibility.
    Why paradise? Why not another city ? Why is that the wind was blowing to that direction and not the opposite ?
    Why calling the city paradise at the first place ? Now it will be remembered as hell on earth.
    We are calling those calamities upon us. We are to blame 😔

  • @dexydexa
    @dexydexa 3 роки тому

    That's the risk you make when you live amongst the trees like that... crazy. I hope she looked towards the future and became positive... such a sad, sad, time

    • @Madronaxyz
      @Madronaxyz 3 роки тому +3

      No it's a risk when private utilities are not publicly regulated and p

    • @joevignolor4u949
      @joevignolor4u949 3 роки тому

      @@Madronaxyz While its true that a power line started this fire that isn't the whole story. In Paradise they had a densely populated community located in a dense forest. Then they had very dry conditions for months and heavy winds on that day. It was the proverbial "perfect storm". Fires can start many different ways such as lightning. If lightning had started this fire who would you blame then?

    • @CountryLivingOnTheFarm
      @CountryLivingOnTheFarm 2 роки тому

      @@joevignolor4u949 cut the crap dude bunch of malarkey. You sound like a dumbocrat!

  • @mikexxxmilly
    @mikexxxmilly 3 роки тому +2

    Complaining about simple possessions when people lost their lives. That’s rich

  • @ericunderwood1482
    @ericunderwood1482 3 роки тому

    That mind set of ...there's noway they are going to let Central Paradise burn...when you are in Paradise before the fire if you walked outside of your house and looked up all you saw was a tree line...

  • @skitzochik
    @skitzochik 3 роки тому

    the red cross wouldnt help her with getting a temporary place? is she working?

    • @UncoordinatedPixie
      @UncoordinatedPixie 2 роки тому +1

      The section 8 lady? Doubt it.

    • @tatjananebe8934
      @tatjananebe8934 4 місяці тому +1

      What a silly, numb and ignorant question. It's so typical US. No empathy.

    • @skitzochik
      @skitzochik 4 місяці тому

      @@tatjananebe8934 silly AND numb wow, why is it silly & numb?

  • @xtusvincit5230
    @xtusvincit5230 4 роки тому

    Cant they bring in Quonset huts or something?

  • @patricialucious5091
    @patricialucious5091 4 роки тому

    $3000 a mt income shouldn’t allow u to qualify for section 8 at $300 something a mt. Tf

    • @catherinenelson4162
      @catherinenelson4162 4 роки тому +2

      That $3,000 came from FEMA, not her wages. She said that was way above her income.

  • @patricialucious5091
    @patricialucious5091 4 роки тому

    But Esau claims my ppl r draining the resources of this Amerikkka. I can’t tell.

  • @crand20033
    @crand20033 4 роки тому +2

    You chose to live in the California mountains where they always have wildfires. It's a good area for a house.

    • @Madronaxyz
      @Madronaxyz 3 роки тому

      You sound like a bitter old man.

  • @twoshea749
    @twoshea749 3 роки тому

    Hey bezos you could help...

  • @theoldblood3804
    @theoldblood3804 5 років тому +3

    360 dollars for rent a month for a house in a nice town...I guess being a single mom pays off. Not trying to take away what happened. But please tell me more about your "oppression"...

    • @joyceeforbes8457
      @joyceeforbes8457 5 років тому +1

      Gussys Video Game Videos ....You compassionless imp ...the Oppression is being BURNED out the only homes these poor peoples knew . Get a heart one that is real !

    • @joyceeforbes8457
      @joyceeforbes8457 5 років тому

      Gussys Video Game Videos-if that doesn’t break your heart her weeping for the home of hardly nothing but precious memories now destroyed by a calamity, you just don’t have one . May God bless you with much better , you and your truly precious beautiful girl 💞

  • @polloggertie4376
    @polloggertie4376 4 роки тому

    Why aren’t the trees burned up.

    • @perrysims3320
      @perrysims3320 4 роки тому +3

      The fire moved extremely quickly along the ground pushed by near hurricane winds. The houses are more combustible. In places where the fire burned longer and hotter, the trees were destroyed.

    • @ensignmjs7058
      @ensignmjs7058 4 роки тому +5

      It depends on the type of tree. The shorter or dead trees were incinerated. Trees with harder wood or that are still green would resist the fire longer. Plus, many trees are adapted to the periodic forest fire.

    • @garp-cm7te
      @garp-cm7te 4 роки тому

      They were

    • @ensignmjs7058
      @ensignmjs7058 4 роки тому +1

      @mason deeks, nah. This was crumbling infrastructure and outdated equipment that met with nature being opportunistic.

    • @joevignolor4u949
      @joevignolor4u949 3 роки тому

      The tree bark protects the live wood underneath. Tree bark is such a good insulator that engineers use it to make the heat shields on rockets and spacecraft. During reentry the tree bark protects the underlying metal structure of the vehicle so that it can survive the extreme heat created by atmospheric friction.

  • @dianeowen5258
    @dianeowen5258 5 років тому +7

    trump's 'Amerrka'.

  • @billyhighfill
    @billyhighfill 5 років тому +5

    Is these changing times. In a world of uncertainty. We must trust in God. The Bible talks about this. The end times. Flooding, check. Wild fires that are growing worse and worse every year, check. The end times are upon us. Place you faith in Jesus Christ.

    • @joyceeforbes8457
      @joyceeforbes8457 5 років тому +3

      Amen you are correct . But that doesn’t mean we sit on our Bibles and NOT respond to needs of human despair as though it cannot happen to anyone of us or our family’s. Yes trust is a must but materials in need is a true friend indeed !

  • @spiritoflight1375
    @spiritoflight1375 5 років тому +4

    Most unnatural fire ever.

  • @patricialucious5091
    @patricialucious5091 4 роки тому

    Many of um went to a Walmart parking lot with tents but soon Walmart told um to kick rocks. Hehehe

  • @marcatteberry1361
    @marcatteberry1361 5 років тому +2

    It wasnt a "Wild Fire"
    It was ARSON! Why not mention that, or his name?
    Narrative?