Rebuild

“There must not be much action up in Paradise, huh? What with the Covid shut-down and everything,” said my brother-in-law at our Fourth of July get-together, over on the Coast.

“Well, it’s surprising,” I said, “the building lots are selling, and over a thousand Building Permit applications are in. Houses are going up.”

True. Lots are selling, but a good portion of the lots in Paradise aren’t for sale. A good portion of those Building Permit applications are from Paradise fire victims not selling their lots. They are determined to restart. And some fire victims who left the North State area, or left California entirely, are returning.

“I’m just dumb enough to go back,” said Richard, a Paradise construction guy who’s been living in the West Valley. “I never did like it down in Chico. It’s okay out here where I’m at, but it’s not Paradise. My lot up there is a mess. The trees are all gone, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and rebuild. Back to my roots, if you know what I mean.”

An Agent In my office said, “I’m working with three clients who moved away after losing their homes in Paradise and have decided to move back. They are selling the homes they bought right after the Camp Fire. Two of them are selling at a loss. All three plan on rebuilding.”

One of those clients happened to have called me about a month ago, left me a voice mail. 

“My husband and I knew the old Paradise Cowboy, Lee, you wrote about, who got knocked out, and laid flat down in the ditch while his house burned and his dogs died, too. A friend of ours sent us that article. We cried. And then we laughed. What was it he said? ‘I’m just a little older than the hills, but I can still ride bulls.’ And, ‘I’m a hard-headed old cowboy. We take it as it comes.’ That tough old dude made it. And he was determined to rebuild.” Her husband chimed in: “We moved out here to Idaho, but it’s not home. Home is Paradise. We’re coming back. After we heard Lee died, a year after he survived that damn fire, we decided we needed to come home.” The guy was choking up.

I talked to Deb, our supermarket checker who lost her house in Paradise and moved to Oregon right after the fire. Deb returned from Oregon last year, saying, “The grass might look greener somewhere else, and we have plenty to complain about here, but this is the best place to live. This is home.” It’s been a long road for Deb, moving around, dealing with fire insurance, figuring out how to rebuild, whether it’s worth it, where to call home. This day she told me she had just bought a house in Glenn County. 

“So, I guess you’ve decided to live there,” I said. 

“Oh no,” said Deb, “I’m determined to get back to Paradise. It’s beautiful. I want to be home, on my property. I know it won’t be the same, but I’m going back. I love that area!”

She’s not the only one.