Paradise and Magalia Today: Rebuilding After the 2018 Fire
The whole world had eyes on Paradise and Magalia during 2018 when the Camp Fire devastated the area.
However, “Contrary to reports, Paradise was never completely lost, with 40% of its business infrastructure largely unaffected, and 60% of Magalia homes intact.”
As the fifth anniversary of the Camp Fire has recently passed, a lot has changed on The Ridge.
First Five Years
After the Camp Fire the community took immediate action to make the area safe for residents.
The plastic, metal, and composite culvert pipes throughout town that melted from the heat of the fire were replaced with
fire-resistant concrete pipes at various locations.
Guard rails were replaced along the lower skyway that were burned and damaged in the fire. Within one year a total of 3.6 million total tons of
debris were removed—the same “ton” total as four Golden Gate bridges creating a cleaner, safer community.
Measures have also been taken to make commuting throughout town safer for all. A
signal light
was installed at the four-way intersection of Skyway and Black Olive Drive, to ensure a safer driving experience for every day and evacuations. The
Pentz Road Safe Routes to School Project increased safety for students and other pedestrians in a highly trafficked area that was once unsafe.
The most recently completed project is the
Early Warning Sirens (EWS) in the town of Paradise. This includes twenty-one siren towers that provide a redundant warning system for residents and visitors in Paradise of potential or emergent hazards that threaten life and property.
As part of a downtown revitalization initiative, Downtown Almond Street has new drainage systems, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, paths, lighting, and landscaping. This allows for a safe, walkable downtown encouraging new businesses to come in and multifamily units to be built. It also creates an excellent place for the community to gather and support local merchants.
Paradise High School recently celebrated the grand opening of a new 31K sqft administration and classroom building as well as the re-opening of a newly remodeled science building and library.
Paradise Junior High School celebrated a similar milestone when they reopened with new classrooms, gymnasium and pickle ball court. Other complete projects include new buildings and classrooms at Ridgeview High School and Paradise Ridge Elementary School.
Coming Next
Although a lot of progress has been made the community is committed to continuing to improve with other projects planned for the future.
Road Improvements;
93 miles of public roads are being repaired, connected and widened to improve driving and safety.
Sewer Project:
The Sewer Project in the downtown area is in progress and will allow for more businesses and higher-density residential developments to be built. The new sewer will eliminate some of the hurdles larger establishments face when opening up shop as well as improve for future development of the town.
Underground of Utilities:
Undergrounding utilities, like internet and phone lines, creates a quicker more reliable service for residents and businesses.
Paradise Unified School District:
Paradise Unified School District is working at every single school site building 21st century classrooms. Some of their upcoming milestones include a Ribbon Cutting for the newly renovated Pine Ridge School and a groundbreaking ceremony at Cedarwood Elementary School.
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