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When Jessica Roberts heard that a fire ignited roughly four miles from where the Camp Fire started in 2018, she was catapulted back to the most traumatic experience of her life.
The Dixie Fire is California’s largest active wildfire, having burned more than 240,000 acres of land — an area larger than New York City — over the course of two weeks. Its size jumped significantly last weekend when it merged with the Fly Fire in the Lassen and Plumas national forests. More than 7,800 residents across Butte and Plumas counties have been ordered to evacuate as of Monday morning.
In the last few days, the smoke, orange skies and firefighting helicopters flying over the remote town of Paradise reminded residents of the deadly disaster that scarred the region — physically and emotionally — not so long ago. The Camp Fire was the deadliest wildfire in California’s history, killing 85 people and destroying the town of Paradise.
The Dixie Fire on Friday was just 23% contained, according to Cal Fire. Officials say the state’s worsening drought and low precipitation levels, fueled by climate change, are making it hard to fight the fire, which threatens more than 10,000 structures in the region with more than 60 already destroyed.
Even though Paradise is not directly threatened by the Dixie Fire, its proximity is unnerving. With a historic drought plaguing California, exacerbating what already looks to be a severe wildfire season, climate change is rekindling trauma and threatening the lives of those who have tried to escape its consequences.
Dozens of households displaced by the Camp Fire, like Roberts and her family, have already relocated elsewhere in the state, but many moved to nearby towns that are now in the fire’s path.
Each day the Dixie Fire burns, the anxiety grows along with it.
“Once you’re a fire victim of such magnitude, which I was and others have been, we watch these fires very closely,” she said. “It’s not something that we can get away from, because of the post-traumatic stress of it all.”
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Jacob Saylors, 11, walks through the burned remains of his home in Paradise, California, on Sunday, November 18. His family lost a home in the same spot to a fire 10 years earlier.
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Lidia Steineman, who lost her home in the Camp Fire, prays during a vigil for fire victims on November 18 in Chico, California. More than 50 people gathered at the memorial service.
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From left, California Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom, California Gov. Jerry Brown, President Donald Trump, Paradise Mayor Jody Jones and FEMA Administrator Brock Long survey damage left by the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, on Saturday, November 17. The death toll from the Camp Fire has risen to 76 and more than 1,200 people remain unaccounted for.
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A child wears a smoke mask while watching President Trump”s motorcade in Chico on November 17.
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Fire evacuees sift through donated items in a Chico parking lot November 17.
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A group of children hold an American flag as the motorcade of President Donald Trump drives through Chico, California, on November 17.
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A firefighter searches for human remains on Friday, November 16, in a Paradise trailer park destroyed in the Camp Fire.
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President Donald Trump visits a neighborhood impacted by the Woolsey Fire in Malibu, California, on November 17.
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Dakota Keltner, right, rests on Havyn Cargill-Morris on November 16 in a truck at a makeshift encampment outside a Walmart store in Chico, California. The camp became a temporary respite for people displaced by the Camp Fire.
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A burned neighborhood is seen on Thursday, November 15, in Paradise, California.
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Rescue workers sift through rubble in search of human remains on Wednesday, November 14, at a burned property in Paradise.
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Firefighters work to control the Camp Fire on November 14 north of Oroville, California.
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Evacuee Denise Chester hugs her son, Antonio Batres, as she volunteers her time sorting clothes on November 14 at a makeshift shelter in Chico. Chester, who didn’t want to know yet whether her home survived, said: “I want to help. I don’t want to shut down.”
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Tape outlines the location where sheriff’s deputies on November 14 recovered the body of a Camp Fire victim.
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Magalia resident Luis Badres and his family left his home because of the Camp Fire. They were living in a tent on Tuesday, November 13, in the parking lot of a Chico Walmart.
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A long line of residents seeking to return to Malibu wait at a checkpoint on November 13 on Pacific Coast Highway after Woolsey Fire evacuation orders were lifted for the eastern portion of the city.
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A helicopter flies near the Woolsey Fire burning in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
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Roger Kelton wipes away tears on November 13 while searching through the remains of his mother-in-law’s home in Agoura Hills. It was destroyed by the Woolsey Fire.
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A melted fence runs along a hillside as firefighters battle the Woolsey Fire in Agoura Hills on November 13.
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Firefighters search through the remains of a Paradise house on November 13.
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Smoke fills the horizon on November 13 as an airplane flies near a flare-up of the Woolsey Fire near Lake Sherwood.
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A fire truck drives through part of Paradise on November 13.
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An air tanker drops water on a fire along the Ronald Reagan Freeway in Simi Valley on Monday, November 12.
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Samantha Esau and Emily Garcia take in stray cats from an evacuated Paradise home on November 12.
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Firefighters put out hot spots in Paradise on November 12.
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Joseph Grado and his wife, Susan, embrace at a shelter in Chico on November 12. The Camp Fire destroyed their home.
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A firefighter battles a fire in Simi Valley on November 12.
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A plane drops fire retardant on the Woolsey Fire near Malibu on November 12.
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Betsy Ann Cowley walks through Pulga, near where investigators were trying to determine the cause of the Camp Fire.
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A resident sprays down a roof as firefighters battle the Peak Fire in Simi Valley.
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Shawn Slack carries a chainsaw on November 12 after trees burned in Paradise.
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Chris and Nancy Brown embrace while looking over the remains of their home on November 12.
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Firefighters put out hot spots in Thousand Oaks on November 12.
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Firefighters battle a fire in Simi Valley on November 12.
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A ferry makes its way toward Alcatraz Island on November 12 as the San Francisco skyline is obscured by smoke that drifted over from the Camp Fire.
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A vehicle drives through smoke near Pulga on Sunday, November 11.
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Firefighters battle the Woolsey Fire in Malibu on November 11.
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A helicopter drops water while battling the Camp Fire near Pulga on November 11.
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Firefighters work at the Salvation Army Camp in Malibu on Saturday, November 10.
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A bag containing human remains lies on the ground on November 11 as officials continue to search for victims at a burned-out home in Paradise.
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Cathy Fallon, who stayed behind in Paradise to tend to her horses during the Camp Fire, embraces Shawna De Long, left, and April Smith, right, who brought supplies for the horses.
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Firefighters douse embers off a canyon road that cuts across the mountains to Malibu.
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A plane drops fire retardant on a burning hillside in Malibu on November 11.
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Evacuee Brian Etter and his dog Tone, who escaped the Camp Fire on foot, rest in the parking lot of a Chico church on November 11.
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Culver City firefighters watch the Woolsey Fire from a burned home in Los Angeles.
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The remains of a Los Angeles home destroyed by the Woolsey Fire are seen on November 11.
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The sun rises over the Pacific Ocean on November 11 as the Woolsey Fire burns in Malibu.
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Firefighters battle a blaze in Malibu on Saturday, November 10.
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A woman runs in Calabasas as firefighters work to control a flare-up from the Woolsey Fire on November 10.
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The Camp Fire burns November 10 in the hills near Big Bend.
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Sheriff’s deputies carry a body bag with a Camp Fire victim on November 10.
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Scorched hillsides and damaged power lines are seen on November 10 along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.
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Araya Cipollini cries November 10 near the remains of her family’s home in Paradise.
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Los Angeles County firefighters work in Malibu Creek State Park on November 10.
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A deer looks on from a burned residence in Paradise on November 10.
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A fire truck is seen on the Pacific Coast Highway as the Woolsey Fire burns in Malibu on November 10.
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Eric England searches through a friend’s vehicle in Paradise on November 10.
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Sheriff’s deputies walk November 10 through a neighborhood destroyed by the Camp Fire.
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A satellite image from November 10 shows vegetation that was burned as a result of the Woolsey Fire.
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Firefighters meet in Paradise on November 10.
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Roger Bloxberg and his wife, Anne, hug on Friday, November 9, as they watch a wildfire on a Los Angeles hilltop.
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Malibu Mayor Rick Mullen, who is also a firefighter, surveys a house engulfed in flames on Friday, November 9.
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A massive smoke plume, powered by strong winds, rises above the Woolsey Fire in Malibu on November 9.
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Cathy Fallon stands near the charred remains of her Paradise home on November 9. The Camp Fire has wiped out much of the town north of Sacramento.
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A firefighter sprays down palm trees as the Woolsey Fire burns in Malibu on November 9.
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Llamas are tied to a lifeguard stand on a Malibu beach on November 9.
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Smoke is seen over the Pacific in this photo taken from a helicopter over Malibu on November 9.
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A woman in Malibu reacts to devastation on November 9.
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A row of palm trees stands as the Woolsey Fire continues to burn in Malibu on November 9.
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From left, firefighters Cory Darrigo, Omar Velasquez and Sam Quan rest in a Westlake Village backyard after battling the Woolsey Fire all night.
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Gabi and Jonah Frank walk on the Pacific Coast Highway as the Woolsey Fire threatens their Malibu home on November 9.
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From NASA
A satellite image taken by NASA’s Operational Land Imager shows the Camp Fire in Northern California.
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A firefighter keeps watch as the Woolsey Fire burns a home near Malibu Lake on November 9.
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The Woolsey Fire burns in Malibu on November 9. The community is known for celebrity beachside homes.
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Doug Thomas and his dog Hanna rest November 9 while they await word if they can return to their Malibu Lake home.
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Cars destroyed by the Camp Fire sit in a used-car lot in Paradise on November 9.
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Firefighters battle flames in Thousand Oaks early on November 9.
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Evacuees rest on cots supplied by the Red Cross at a Los Angeles high-school gym on November 9.
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Fire Capt. Steve Millosovich, battling the Camp Fire in Big Bend, carries a cage of cats that fell from an evacuee’s pickup.
posted to Instagram by Julie Ellerton.” class=”gallery-image__dam-img” loading=’lazy’/>Photos: In pictures: Wildfires tear across California
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Firefighters push a vehicle from a garage as the Woolsey Fire burns a home in Malibu on November 9.
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Patients are evacuated from Paradise’s Feather River Hospital as it burns on Thursday, November 8.
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Juanita and Wayne McLish sit on a curb November 8 after losing their house to the Camp Fire in Paradise.
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The Hill Fire burns in Thousand Oaks on November 8.
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The Woolsey Fire burns in Ventura County, where Jason Bauer told CNN his parents had just been evacuated from their home.
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People embrace in the parking lot of a Paradise hospital as the Camp Fire engulfed it on November 8.
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The Paradise Inn burns on November 8.
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A firefighter works to extinguish a spot fire at a home in Paradise.
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Vehicles and homes burn as the Camp Fire rips through Paradise on November 8.
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Dogs roam a burned-out neighborhood in Paradise.
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Hospital staff and first responders evacuate the Feather River Hospital in Paradise on November 8.
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A fire emergency crew works to protect the Paradise Town Hall from the encroaching Camp Fire on November 8.
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A home burns as the Camp Fire rages through Paradise.
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A vintage car rests among debris in Paradise.
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Medical personnel move patients as the Feather River Hospital is evacuated in Paradise on November 8.
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Smoke fills the sky over Paradise on November 8. Paradise, located about 85 miles north of Sacramento, has 26,000 residents.
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The remains of a building are seen after being consumed by the Camp Fire.
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A firefighter monitors a burning home on November 8.
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California Highway Patrol officers attempt to transfer a potbelly pig they rescued in Butte County on November 8.
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A Paradise home is engulfed in flames on November 8.
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Firefighters monitor a back fire while attempting to save homes in Paradise on November 8.
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Flames burn inside a van as the Camp Fire tears through Paradise on November 8.
Roberts lived in Magalia, just north of Paradise, when the Camp Fire engulfed the region. Her then-husband was out of town, so she evacuated with her 1-year-old son, 6-year-old daughter and their three dogs.
“I remember my daughter asking if we were going to die,” Roberts told CNN in tears. “And we weren’t even anywhere like some folks that were trapped in the flames. But the fact that my daughter asked if we were going to die that day still resonates.”
Roberts ultimately lost her home to the fire and, like many others, took what was left of her family’s former life to trailers and hotels. After months of moving she now lives in Sacramento, which is facing water shortages from the extreme drought.
Julian Martinez had a different idea. After sleeping in his truck for several months after the Camp Fire obliterated his home, he went back and bought a house in Paradise. Martinez manages a construction company that rebuilds houses in Paradise. Because of the swath of smoke blanketing the area, the company’s concrete deliveries — many for houses that are being rebuilt after the Camp Fire — have been postponed.
“It’s difficult,” Martinez told CNN. “Building a house is a hard project anyhow, and because these are rebuilds for people who lost their home, there’s a bit of added trauma and emotional challenges that come with that.”
Some who moved to nearby towns like Chester or Almanor, which are now threatened by the Dixie Fire, are being asked to evacuated again and reliving horrifying memories.
“That’s got to be so defeating to be experiencing that again,” said Martinez, who fears that another wildfire could still strike Paradise this season. “I sleep very lightly. Every time I hear a siren, I jump up and turn on the scanner and start listening to the fire reports and radio traffic.”
Jungho Kim/The New York Times/Redux
Members of the Fulton Hotshots work through the night at the Dixie Fire near Quincy, Calif., Monday.
The cause of the Dixie Fire is still under investigation, but in a report filed to the California Public Utilities Commission, Pacific Gas and Electric said its power lines may have played a role.
PG&E reported one of the utility’s repairmen was sent to an area along Highway 70 on July 13 to investigate an outage at a hydropower dam on the Feather River. From a distance, the repairman reported seeing a “blown fuse” on a power line in an area that was “challenging” to reach, the utility reported.
Hours later, when the employee arrived at the scene, two fuses were blown and there was a fire at the base of a tree that was leaning against one of the company’s electric poles, the report says.
Camp Fire victims are watching in shock as another fire that may have been sparked by the utility burns down homes and upends lives. Investigators with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection found in 2019 that electrical lines owned by PG&E started the Camp Fire amid extremely dry and windy conditions.
In June 2020, PG&E pleaded guilty to 84 separate counts of involuntary manslaughter and one felony count of unlawfully starting a fire in the deadly case of the Camp Fire in 2018, which destroyed nearly 19,000 buildings.
“With the victims watching other victims watching what’s going on with the Dixie Fire, and knowing the fallout and what those folks are going to have to go through — and some of those folks are from the Camp Fire, which is a double experience for them — is ridiculous,” said Roberts.
In addition to a $3.5 million fine paid to prosecutors, the maximum amount allowable, the utility company also agreed to a $13.5 billion settlement to compensate victims of the Camp Fire and other fires. But Martinez says he and others have not yet received preliminary payments.
A PG&E spokesperson did not respond to a question from CNN regarding payments to Camp Fire victims but said in a statement that “PG&E’s most important responsibility is the safety of our customers and communities.”
Peter DaSilva/UPI/Shutterstock
Heavy plumes of smoke billow from the Dixie fire above the Plumas National Forest near the PG&E Rock Creek Power House on July 21.
“The really unfortunate part is that for a lot of people up here, they didn’t have insurance, they lost their jobs, and they lost their homes,” Martinez said. “And they really needed money two and a half years ago. Some sort of payout earlier could have really made the difference.”
Martinez worries PG&E may suffer more penalties for the Dixie Fire, which could delay the payments even longer.
“We’re coming up on the third anniversary of the fire already,” Martinez added. “For a lot of people, they just got left with nothing — and those are the people that really should have been taken care of financially earlier, but way too much time has passed.”
In a rapidly changing climate, wildfires are becoming more severe and more frequent across the West. Roberts believes that should be a forefront issue and addressed with urgency.
“We’re only given one Earth that gave us everything to survive,” Roberts said. “Yet year by year, we are literally destroying it.”
Noah Berger/AP
Flames from the Dixie Fire crest a hill in Lassen National Forest on Monday.
She also hopes corporations who continue to ignore the climate crisis understand the emotional and economic toll repeating disasters like wildfires have on survivors, particularly those who still live in vulnerable communities.
“There are ways to have the least environmental impact as possible such as green energy without endangering the lives of the citizens that it serves,” she said. “I just really want people to not forget the victims, and that their voices be heard.”
