| PARADISE, CALIF. — Paradise era un lugar para escapar y retirarse. Ubicado en Sierra Foothills, el enclave rural y las comunidades aledañas son parte del Valle de Sacramento y se encuentra relativamente cerca de ciudades como Chico y Oroville.
Pero lo que lo que atrajo a miles de personas a Paradise, como la posibilidad de desaparecer en medio de carreteras sinuosas, colinas y barrancos sobre el río Feather y Butte Creek, ha hecho que el trabajo de reconectarse con familiares y amigos tras el devastador incendio, sea mucho mas difícil.
A medida que las cuadrillas de emergencia se mueven a través de escombros y cenizas, aparecen decenas de tableros con mensajes en refugios, centros de evacuación e iglesias que enumeran los nombres de las crecientes multitudes con apelaciones lastimeras, que recuerdan las publicaciones encontradas en Manhattan después de los ataques terroristas del 9/11.
Cobertura celular irregular y líneas eléctricas caídas que bloquean el acceso a las zonas quemadas y ha hecho la tarea mucho más difícil.
Con más de 52,000 personas que tuvieron que salir de sus casas por el incendio, las autoridades están tratando de establecer el número real de personas que se encuentran desaparecidas. Una pagina de Facebook contiene una lista de 105 personas, y el lunes, las autoridades habían reportado 223 personas cuyo paradero era desconocido.
Bellairs esperaba que los evacuados que habían llegado a Chico pudieran ayudar. El y su novia manejaron desde su casa en Medford, Oregon, para ayudar a su madre y su padrastro, quien esta perdido desde que inició el incendio de Camp.
“Solo quiero saber que él está bien”, dijo Bellairs con lágrimas en sus ojos.
Bellair y su familia están tratando de evitar pensar lo peor. Se están quedando en un refugio local, pero les preocupan los problemas de salud de su padrastro. Esperan que Josh esté acampando en alguna parte. Tal vez, se dicen a sí mismos, simplemente no tiene servicio celular.
Pero a medida que pasan los días, su esperanza se va desvaneciendo. Tal vez él no recibió la advertencia de evacuación. .
“Ese es el miedo”, dijo el padrastro de Bellairs, Charles Deaderick, “que no haya sabido a tiempo”.
El martes, en medio de las ráfagas de viento y fuego que golpeaban a Paradise, los residentes tuvieron pocos minutos para buscar sus mascotas y pertenencias antes de huir. Cuando el fuego avanzó, había destruido más de 6,000 casas y 250 edificios comerciales en menos de 24 horas.
Muchos residentes desplazados de las comunidades rurales dispersas entre Redding y Sacramento se han hecho cargo de la publicación en pizarras blancas en la Iglesia vecinal de Chco y en la Escuela Secundaria Bidwell, una mejor alternativa que esperar indefensos y esperando lo peor.
Los mensajes van desde tranquilizadores (“Estoy bien, no te preocupes por mí”) hasta urgentes.
Estoy buscando a Julian Binstock y a su perro Jack, evacuados el 8 de noviembre de Feather Canyon Retirement Community en Paradise CA debido al #CampFire. Por favor ayúdanos a encontrarlo.
Una mujer buscaba a su madre: “Necesita medicina para el corazón y un marcapasos”.
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A sign stands at a community destroyed by the Camp fire, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018, in Paradise, Calif.
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Katherine Marinara and her son Luca find what they came back to look for, old family photographs, at their burnt down house resulting from the Woolsey Fire on Busch Drive in Malibu, California on November 13, 2018.
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Katerine Marinara looks toward where her house on Busch Drive once stood, a casualty of the Woolsey Fire, on November 13, 2018 in Malibu, California.
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The remains of burnt down homes and vechicles resulting from the Woolsey Fire are seen on Busch Drive in Malibu, California on November 13, 2018.
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While the blackened and charred hills left some homes untouched in the path of the Woolsey Fire, others were less fortunate as remains of a burnt down home on Busch Drive is seen on November 13, 2018 in Malibu, California.
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The house belonging to actor Gerard Butler, destroyed by the Woolsey Fire, is seen in Malibu, California on November 13, 2018 as residents remain under evacuation.
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Katherine Marinara and her son Luca return to their fire-ravaged home along Busch Drive in Malibu, California on November 13, 2018, as they search for belongings.
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A search and rescue worker searches a pool for human remains at a trailer park burned by the Camp Fire, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018, in Paradise, Calif.
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Search and rescue workers search for human remains at a burned out trailer park from the Camp fire, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018, in Paradise, Calif.
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Roger Kelton, 67, searches through the remains of his mother-in-law’s home burned down by the Woolsey Fire, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018, in Agoura Hills, Calif.
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A long line of residents seeking to return to Malibu, Calif., in Southern California wait at a checkpoint on Pacific Coast Highway after Woolsey Fire evacuation orders were lifted for the eastern portion of the city Tuesday evening, Nov. 13, 2018.
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Search and rescue workers search for human remains at a trailer park burned by the Camp Fire, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018, in Paradise, Calif.
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A sign still stands at a McDonald’s restaurant on Nov. 12, 2018, in the northern California town of Paradise.
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A mansion burned down by the Woolsey Fire sits on a hilltop overlooking the Santa Monica Mountains Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018, in Agoura Hills, Calif.
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A bag containing human remains lies on the ground as officials continue to search at a burned out home at the Camp Fire, Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018, in Paradise, Calif.
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Anthropology students observe as human remains are recovered from a burned out home at the Camp Fire, Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018, in Paradise, Calif.
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Firefighters battle a flare-up in previously unburned brush above a neighborhood on Ingomar Street in West Hills.
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Firefighters work to put out hot spots in and around structures destroyed by the Woolsey fire as a plume of smoke rises from near the Chatsworth Reservoir in West Hills on Sunday.
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A firefighter works to put out hot spots in and around structures destroyed by the Woolsey fire in Bell Canyon on Sunday.
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A home burns on the 6200 block of Ramirez Mesa Drive after hydrants went dry Saturday in Malibu.
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Residents and firefighters wait for water to be shuttled up by truck after the hydrants went dry as they battled a house fire Saturday on the 6200 block of Ramirez Mesa Drive in Malibu.
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A “Thank you firefighters” sign hangs on the entrance to Pepperdine University on Saturday.
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Paullette Koenig hugs neighbor Gai Farbenbloom after both lost their homes at the Seminole Springs mobile home park in Malibou Lake.
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Matty Winters, 13, finds a piece of a library book at the Seminole Springs mobile home park in Malibou Lake after the Woolsey Fire roared through the community.
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L.A. County Sheriff’s officers try to put out a spot fire No. 10 at a home along Mulholland in Malibu.
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A Southern California Edison employee hoses down a hot spot off Kanan Road on Nov. 10. The crew was checking for hot spots around power lines.
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A Los Angeles County Firefighter fights a structure fire at Camp 13, an inmate fire crew camp run by the Los Angeles County Fire Department off Decker Road above Malibu.
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A Los Angeles County firefighter runs while working to fight a structure fire at Camp 13 in Malibu.
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Anne Marie Mueller is notified by L.A. County Sheriff’s Officer Ernie Ferreras that her friends in Malibu are safe.
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A man stands in the middle of the street at the Seminole Springs mobile home park in Malibou Lake.
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Matt Sexton goes through the rubble from his house in Seminole Springs.
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Michael Quane of El Segundo came to the El Porto area of Manhattan Beach to surf against the backdrop of billowing smoke from the Woolsey fire over Santa Monica.
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Mark Cassar, at the entrance of his brother’s Westlake Village home his father built in 1990. The home was destroyed in the Woolsey fire.
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Garet Anzalone, 23, is tearful as he goes through his grandmother’s burned-out property in a mobile home park in Westlake Village.
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David Spence, left, with friend Eric Winger, takes photos of his 1976 TR6 after the fire in a mobile home park in Westlake Village.
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Lori Jackson, 52, looks for items that survived the fire in a mobile home park in Westlake Village.
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An American flag is melted on a burned-out car on property in a mobile home park in Westlake Village.
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Garet Anzalone surveys his grandmother’s burned-out property in a mobile home park in Westlake Village.
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A home on Bell Canyon Boulevard in Bell Canyon was destroyed by the Woolsey fire.
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A burned hillside off Bell Canyon Boulevard in Bell Canyon, caused by the Woolsey fire.
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Los Angeles County firefighters extinguish a burning building at a residence off Kanan Road in Malibu on Saturday. The main house was undamaged.
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A destroyed vehicle and residence off Dume Drive in Malibu on Saturday.
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A scorched sign at the visitor center at Leo Carrillo State Beach, which was destroyed by the Woolsey fire.
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Ash and debris from the Woolsey fire turned the water in a swimming pool opaque at a residence off Kanan Road in Malibu on Saturday.
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Power lines damaged by the Woolsey fire along southbound Pacific Coast Highway near Leo Carrillo State Beach on Saturday.
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Cars parked in front of the ruins of a house destroyed by the Woolsey fire off Kanan Road in Malibu on Saturday.
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Charred bluffs near near Leo Carrillo State Beach where the Woolsey fire burned to the Pacific Ocean overnight.
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Los Angeles firefighters Ryan Miller, left, Justin Randolph and Kobe Sallstrom grab some brief rest at the corner of Flintlock Lane and Silver Spur Lane in Bell Canyon on Saturday.
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Los Angeles firefighter Brittney Bebek sprays hot spots on Hitching Post Lane in Bell Canyon on Saturday.
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Keith Clark carries golf clubs salvaged from his son Shane Clark’s burned home on Hitching Post Lane in Bell Canyon on Saturday.
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Firefighters walk near homes that are threatened by the Woolsey fire in Malibu. This homes in the area are known as Native.
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The Woolsey fire bears down on Pepperdine University.
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A firefighter walks towards his engine after trying to prevent the Woolsey fire from overtaking structures in Malibu.
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A firefighter requests more water pressure as a house burns from the Woolsey Fire along P.C.H. in Malibu.
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Bell Canyon residents Kathleen and Eric Lee, left, watch the Woolsey fire at the mouth of Bell Canyon after evacuating.
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Bell Canyon residents Ann and Roger Bloxberg watch the Woolsey fire at the mouth of Bell Canyon after evacuating.
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A resident packs up his car as the Woolsey fire bears down on Dume Drive in Malibu.
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Employees of a nearby confectionery use rakes and shovels to battle the Woolsey fire along Agoura Road in Westlake Village.
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A man watches the Woolsey fire burn along Agoura Road in Westlake Village.
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The Woolsey fire burns near homes in West Hills.
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Firefighters fight to save the home of Will Buckley on Dume Drive.
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Lori Anderson reacts as her home burns off Pacific Coast Highway.
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A motorist pauses along Agoura Road in Westlake Village to watch the Woolsey fire burn into the night.
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A firefighter work to extinguish a spot fire next to Fire Station 99.
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Firefighters work to extinguish burning palm trees and spot fires at the Malibu Bay Club.
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Mailboxes burn at the Malibu Bay Club.
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A firefighter runs on top of a structure that he and fellow firefighters were trying to save.
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Llamas are tied to a lifeguard stand on the beach in Malibu as the Woolsey fire approaches.
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A multi million dollar home on Dawn Meadow Court in the High Country neighborhood of North Ranch in Westlake Village continues to burn destroyed by fire Friday morning.
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Oak Park resident Tom Duffy hoses hot spots on a burnt house on Wembly Avenue.
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David Spence returns to find his home and belongings burnt in the Oak Forest Estates mobile home park in Westlake Village
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David Spence returns to find his home and belongings burnt in the Oak Forest Estates mobile home park in Westlake Village.
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Firefighters try to save a burning home on Dapplegray Road in Bell Canyon.
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Ventura County Firefighter Kyle Morrell, middle, sprays water as firefighters monitor burning brush behind homes along Skelton Canyon Circle in the North Ranch area of Westlake Village.
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. One of a few homes on Hillcrest Drive in Thousand Oaks that was destroyed as the Woolsey Fire continues to burn in Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village and Simi Valley.
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Maria Narvaez evacuates her home on Almon Dr near Hillcrest in Thousand Oaks as Santa Ana winds continue to blow Friday morning.
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An air tanker is framed by smoke from the Woolsey fire in Malibu.
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Karla Lykken keeps an eye on the Woolsey fire, which was threatening her home in Malibu.
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Mayor and firefighter Rick Mullen surveys a house on fire in Malibu as the Woolsey fire continues its path to the coast.
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Firefighters battle a house fire on Churchwood Drive as the Woolsey Fire burns in the Oak Park neighborhood early Friday morning.
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Resident Brett Hammond evacuates in Malibu as the Woolsey Fire approaches.
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An owl sits onthe beach in Malibu as the Woolsey fire approaches.
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Horses are tied to a pole on the beach in Malibu as the Woolsey fire approaches.
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Jackie Brody waits for a wave while surfing in Malibu as the Woolsey fire approaches.
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Onlookers watch smoke from the Woolsey fire and take photos on Pacific Coast Highway looking southeast toward Malibu on Friday.
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Smoke from the Woolsey fire darkens the sky over the Pacific Ocean near Malibu on Friday.
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Pacific Coast Highway backs up out of Malibu as the Woolsey fire forced evacuations Friday.
(Stuart W. Palley / For The Times) La residente de Paradise, Jayne Keith, quien perdió su casa en el incendio y se refugió en Red Bluff, visitó el martes la Iglesia del vecindario para comprar comida para perros, mantas y pijamas. Mirando a la pizarra, anotó el número de teléfono de alguien que buscaba a Barbara Hayes.
Una mujer con el apellido “Hayes” se estaba quedando en la calle de su hotel, pero Keith se detuvo, preocupado por el nombre.
“Creo que está escrito de manera diferente”, dijo.
Para Abigail Bell of Paradise, de 16 años, el jueves fue aterrador e interminable. Su tío estaba desaparecido. Los dos viven juntos y son tan cercanos que ella le dice papá.
Cuando la ciudad comenzó a arder, Marysville, 50 millas al sur. Su tío, Darrell Medford, de 66 años, estaba en su casa en Hayes Lane. Estaba tomando una siesta, pero se despertó a tiempo para escapar y salir a salvo.
Escuchar los reportes de las muertes y de la desaparición de pueblos enteros y no saber de su tío, la hacía sentía muy mal.
Esa noche, sin embargo, en una llamada con su prima, supo que Medford estaba a salvo, y entonces se puso a llorar.
“Fue una experiencia aterradora”, dijo Abigail.
Desde entonces, Medford se compró un teléfono celular y ha estado hablando con su sobrina todos los días. El también se sintió aliviado al saber que ella estaba bien, y se considera afortunado de haberse aprendido de memoria su número de teléfono semanas antes de que empezaran los incendios.
“La extraño muchísimo y lo único que quiero en este momento es verla”, dijo.
Abigail y Medford están tratando de reunirse. El paso algunas noches con unos familiares y el lunes ppor la noche en el estacionamiento de la iglesia. Su compañía de seguros le ha ofrecido hospedarlo en un hotel. Estan pensando que ahí podrán reunirse, y mientras más pronto, mejor.
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