CAMP FIRE SURVIVORS MAY HAVE TO MOVE BACK OFF OF PROPERTIES
PARADISE, Calif. - Frustration and anger are growing as Paradise residents, living in on their destroyed properties, are getting word they will have to leave.
Two meetings are scheduled to address repealing the ordinance enacted recently that allows residents to stay on their properties.
A Paradise Town Council meeting will take place on Monday at 8:00 a.m. at the Town Hall at 5555 Skyway.
The Butte County Board of Supervisors will meet Monday at 3:15 p.m. at 25 County Center Drive in Oroville.
FEMA has threatened to withhold nearly two billion dollars in funding for debris removal because of the issues that arise from allowing people back to their properties, which are toxic debris sites.
https://www.actionnewsnow.com/content/news/Butte-Co-Residents-Have-to-Move-Off-of-Destroyed-Prop-505248281.html
Meanwhile…
‘Severely, severely impacted:’ Camp Fire evacuees face barriers to housing
CHICO — It was obvious from the first days of the Camp Fire that finding housing for the victims in Butte County was going to be a nightmare.
Before the fire broke out on Nov. 8 and spread through the communities of Butte Creek Canyon, Paradise, Magalia and Concow, leaving devastation in its wake, the housing vacancy rate was just 1.5 to 2.5 percent. Now it’s basically zero, says Ed Mayer, executive director of the Butte County Housing Authority. That is compounded by hotels and apartments being filled up as well.
At least 50 people remain inside at the Red Cross shelter, though the county and state tried to get everyone out by Thursday, because they don’t have another immediate, stable housing option.
“We’ve gone from impacted to severely, severely impacted,” Mayer said.
The housing situation in the county is so bleak, that Mayer refers to it as “the second disaster” after the wildfire which killed at least 86 people and destroyed over 14,000 homes. While support in terms of donations and volunteers has been overwhelming, the one major need isn’t being met.
“We need housing units,” he said. “We need a lot of housing stock. That’s the one thing we need that we don’t have.”
Housing affordability is also a different story in Chico, the largest city in the area, and the closest to Paradise. The town of Paradise was home to a significant population of older people and people with low or very low income levels.
“If you lived on edge, you could edge around in Paradise,” he said.
“It’s really hard to build housing in this state,” Mayer said. “Everything is stacked against you.”
When it comes down to it, people in temporary housing situations like a friend’s couch or family member’s spare bedroom will probably be forced to leave the area, he said. Many of the Housing Authority’s clients from Paradise have relocated all across the western states, Mayer said.
https://www.chicoer.com/2019/02/01/severely-severely-impacted-camp-fire-evacuees-face-barriers-to-housing/