Current:Home > InvestAmerican Climate Video: In Case of Wildfire, Save Things of Sentimental Value -Ascend Finance Compass
American Climate Video: In Case of Wildfire, Save Things of Sentimental Value
View
Date:2025-04-12 18:54:47
The 12th of 21 stories from the American Climate Project, an InsideClimate News documentary series by videographer Anna Belle Peevey and reporter Neela Banerjee.
CHICO, California—In disaster-prone regions, locals often have a plan for what they would save.
Randy Larsen based his plan on what had sentimental value. When the Camp Fire ignited on the morning of Nov. 8, 2018, and threatened his home in Butte Creek Canyon, about 13 miles west of Paradise, California, he grabbed things like photographs and letters.
“I was almost on autopilot in a sense of I’ve already had this talk with myself,” he said. “Anytime my house burns down … I’m going to grab this picture that my mother had stitched for me and this quilt. I had already thought that out.”
Despite his precautions, Larsen didn’t really believe his house would burn down.
“It was just kind of like precautionary; just in case, take this stuff that’s kind of super important,” Larsen said.
A week later, he found out that the house was gone.
The Camp Fire was to become California’s deadliest and most destructive wildfire to date—with 85 deaths and 18,000 structures destroyed. The blaze occured after the normal fire season had ended and was fueled by dry brush littering the forest floor. A warming climate is extending the fire season and intensifying the dry conditions that invite wildfires.
“I don’t think there’s any question that this wildfire was the consequence of climate change,” Larsen said. “I grew up in California. We’ve never had wildfires in November.”
Larsen, a professor of environmental ethics and philosophy at California State University Chico, believes the Butte Creek Canyon will burn big again, and that wildfire risk will increase as global warming worsens.
Despite this outlook, Larsen is rebuilding his home in the canyon while living in an RV on the property. He wants to build his new house out of plaster rather than wood and install a sprinkler system.
“I wish I could say this is the new normal, but that would be profoundly optimistic if it stayed at being just this bad,” he said. “I haven’t seen any research that suggests that it’s going to level off.”
He added, “I think these are the good old days in terms of wildfire in California, and that’s a bit heartbreaking.”
veryGood! (22129)
Related
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Travis Barker’s Son Landon Barker Towers Over Him in New Photo Revealing Massive Height Difference
- Manslaughter charges dropped in a man’s death at a psychiatric hospital
- Remembering Quincy Jones: 10 career-spanning songs to celebrate his legacy
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- Dogs on the vice-presidential run: Meet the pups of candidates Tim Walz and JD Vance
- Americans say they're spending less, delaying big purchases until after election
- Cardinals rushing attack shines as Marvin Harrison Jr continues to grow into No. 1 WR
- Chuck Scarborough signs off: Hoda Kotb, Al Roker tribute legendary New York anchor
- Federal agencies say Russia and Iran are ramping up influence campaigns targeting US voters
Ranking
- Sam Taylor
- Opinion: Women's sports are on the ballot in this election, too
- A look at the weather expected in battleground states on Election Day
- Returning Grazing Land to Native Forests Would Yield Big Climate Benefits
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- Chiefs trade deadline targets: Travis Etienne, Jonathan Jones, best fits for Kansas City
- When is the NFL trade deadline? Date, time, top trade candidates and deals done so far
- A look at the weather expected in battleground states on Election Day
Recommendation
Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time
Outer Banks Ending After Season 5
Kourtney Kardashian Shares Photos of Baby Rocky's First Birthday Party Celebrations
Horoscopes Today, November 4, 2024
A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
Georgia high court says absentee ballots must be returned by Election Day, even in county with delay
Why the NBA Doesn't Have Basketball Games on Election Day
Homes wiped out by severe weather in Oklahoma: Photos show damage left by weekend storms