Camp Fire (2018): The Wildfire That Destroyed Paradise

The Camp Fire was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California’s history. It began early on 8 November 2018 in the hills of Butte County and, driven by strong, dry winds, swept into the town of Paradise within hours. The fire killed 85 people, destroyed about 18,800 buildings and wiped out most of the town before it was fully contained on 25 November. It was caused by power lines owned by the utility Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E).

Background: a town in the forest

Paradise sits on a ridge in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, about 140 kilometres north of Sacramento. In 2018 it had around 26,000 residents, many of them retirees, and was surrounded by pine forest and brush. Neighbouring communities such as Magalia and Concow were smaller and even more wooded. Only a few roads led off the ridge, a weakness local officials had known about for years.

By autumn 2018, northern California had gone months without significant rain. The vegetation was extremely dry, and early November brought strong, gusty northeasterly winds, known locally as Jarbo Gap winds, that are typical of the season. Fire agencies had issued red flag warnings for extreme fire danger.

The fire of 8 November

At about 6:15 am on 8 November 2018, a hook holding a high-voltage line on an old PG&E transmission tower near Pulga, in the Feather River Canyon, failed. The live line struck the tower and showered sparks onto the dry ground below. Within minutes the fire was spreading rapidly downwind towards the southwest.

The wind carried burning embers far ahead of the flames, starting new spot fires. The fire reached the eastern edge of Paradise in about two hours. At its peak it was spreading at a rate often described as roughly 80 football fields a minute. Concow was hit first, then Paradise and Magalia.

Evacuation orders went out, but the speed of the fire overwhelmed the system. Thousands of residents tried to leave at once along a few narrow roads, including the main route, the Skyway. Traffic jams formed as flames reached the roads, and some people abandoned their cars and fled on foot. Firefighters, police and residents rescued many people, and a large car park and other open areas served as emergency refuges. Not everyone could escape: many of those who died were elderly or disabled.

Destruction and the search for victims

The Camp Fire burned about 62,000 hectares (153,336 acres). It destroyed about 18,800 structures, including roughly 14,000 homes, along with businesses, schools and churches, and it badly damaged the town’s hospital. Damage was estimated at about 16.5 billion dollars, making it the costliest natural disaster in the world in 2018.

Search teams with dogs and forensic specialists combed the ruins for weeks. The confirmed death toll rose to 85, at the time the highest for any US wildfire since the Cloquet fire in Minnesota in 1918. Only a handful of American fires had ever killed more, most notably the Peshtigo Fire of 1871. Rain finally helped firefighters contain the blaze on 25 November 2018, but heavy downpours then created a danger of mudslides on the burned slopes.

The cause and PG&E’s responsibility

In May 2019, Cal Fire, the state fire agency, announced that PG&E’s electrical transmission lines had caused the fire. The failed hook was on the Caribou-Palermo line, built in the early 20th century, and investigators found that the utility had neglected its maintenance for years.

Facing liability claims estimated at up to 30 billion dollars for this and other fires, PG&E filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on 29 January 2019. In June 2020 the company pleaded guilty in Butte County court to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count of unlawfully causing a fire. It paid a settlement of 13.5 billion dollars to a trust for wildfire victims and emerged from bankruptcy on 1 July 2020. No individual executive was criminally charged.

Aftermath and legacy

Most residents of Paradise could not return for many months, and many never did. The town’s population fell to a few thousand and has been recovering slowly, with new building codes requiring fire-resistant materials and better evacuation planning.

The Camp Fire changed how California manages fire risk. Utilities began deliberately cutting power during dangerous wind conditions, a practice known as public safety power shutoffs. The state also invested more in clearing vegetation and burying lines. Five years later the Lahaina wildfire in Maui raised similar questions about power lines, warnings and evacuation.

Timeline

• 2018, 8 November, about 6:15 am: A PG&E transmission line fails near Pulga and starts the fire.
• 2018, 8 November, morning: Fire spreads through Concow and reaches Paradise; mass evacuation begins.
• 2018, 25 November: Cal Fire declares the fire fully contained after rain.
• 2019, 29 January: PG&E files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
• 2019, 15 May: Cal Fire confirms PG&E power lines caused the fire.
• 2020, 16-18 June: PG&E pleads guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter.
• 2020, 1 July: PG&E emerges from bankruptcy after agreeing a 13.5 billion dollar victims’ settlement.

Why it matters

The Camp Fire showed how ageing infrastructure, drought and wind could combine to destroy a whole town in a single morning. It forced a reckoning for California’s largest utility and changed how the state plans for wildfires, evacuations and power safety in a warming climate.