![]() ![]() If you have a cellphone, you had to register them. If you have a landline, you automatically receive those calls that say evacuate immediately. JONES: I think that possibly we could have done more education of people. Do you think there's anything that the city could have done to better prepare for something like this? I know this fire came through so fast, it took everyone by surprise. SHAPIRO: We've seen images of burned-out shells of cars on the road leading out of Paradise. It's called #ParadiseStrong, and people are posting their visions of what the town could be. There's a grassroots community effort that's been started. Every single person on the council lost their home, and we all intend to rebuild. Is there a conversation that has to happen about whether rebuilding makes sense? SHAPIRO: You talk about rebuilding as though it's a sure thing. But the town is the people, and we still have our people. We still have a hospital, a library, a town hall. JONES: And we have some key things that are still standing that will help us to rebuild. JONES: Now, the business district, I would say, is more like 50 percent. SHAPIRO: I can't imagine what it's like to be the mayor of a town that, in some sense, no longer physically exists if more than 90 percent of the buildings have been destroyed. JONES: Well, we're all scattered now in Chico, in Oroville, as far away as Woodland and Corning. SHAPIRO: This is a place with a population of 26,000 people. I would say about 90 percent of the homes in the residential neighborhoods are gone. JONES: It looked like a war zone really, especially in the residential neighborhoods. SHAPIRO: Have you been able to get back into Paradise since the fire passed through? And like other survivors, Mayor Jody Jones has evacuated. First responders are going through the ruins of Paradise looking for the missing. The wildfire that destroyed Paradise is now officially the deadliest and largest in California history. A week ago today, Jody Jones won re-election to the town council of Paradise, Calif. ![]()
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