Monday marked the three-year anniversary of California’s deadliest and most destructive wildfire.
The Camp Fire, which scorched through the Sierra Nevada foothills, killed 86 people, burned down 19,000 homes, and destroyed the Town of Paradise.
KCBS Radio's Holly Quan, who covered the blaze for one week when it erupted in November, 2018, joined "Bay Current" on Tuesday to reflect on the devastating inferno.
What about the fire stands out the most to her when reflecting on those terrifying days?
"The destruction," she said. "How quickly it came through…the fact that you saw these things happen so quickly, I mean it only took a couple of hours before it completely incinerated the town (of Paradise)."
Quan said she accompanied a search and rescue group from Alameda County, whose duties involved trying to find remains amid the destruction.
"I had a conversation with one of the search and rescue guys that really struck me," she explained. "I said 'How do you do this?' He said in his mind, he thinks about it as like he’s having a conversation, if he comes upon remains or somebody who perished. He's like 'Well I'm really sorry this happened to you but we’re here to bring you home. We're here to bring you back to your family and it's going to be better now.'"
"That's how you have to think," she said.
Quan added that it was increasingly hard to witness the volunteers finding remains, but she was thankful for their service.
The Camp Fire was caused by a worn piece of PG&E equipment on a transmission tower. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2019 and last year pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter.
Related
