gotten so bad that it wasn t safe to breathe. so my wife and i took me, the asthmatic, my elderly parent, and our kids straight to vegas. not because we wanted to gamble, but because it was close and there were cheap flights. now back then, it seemed like a oneself-in-a-lifetime thing. rescue, what is your emergency? reporter: but ever since, the fires in california have gotten worse. dixie fire. woolsey fire. are more towns burned to the ground, more forests devastated and more refugees. this episode is about californians and fire, because we got to learn how to get along. now if you re thinking that you re safe because you live outside of california, nope. wildfires happen across america, from alaska to florida. and they happen all over the world. wildfires sweeping across australia. cape town. estonia and turkey. all the way to the north pole. and even if they aren t happening near you, the effects are definitely coming to your doorstep. there i
california history. ahh! lucky for us, the fires hadn t made it to where my family lives in oakland, but the air had gotten so bad that it wasn t safe to breathe. so my wife and i took me, the asthmatic, our elderly parents and kids straight to vegas. not because we wanted to gamble, but because it was close and there were cheap flights. back then, it seemed like a once in a lifetime thing, but every year since, the fires in california have gotten worse. the dixie fire. the hill fire. there are more towns being burned to the ground, more people whose lives are devastated, and more wildfire refugees. this episode is about californians and fire, because we ve got to learn how to get along. now, if you re thinking that you re safe because you live outside of california, nope. wildfires happen across america, from alaska to florida, and they happen all over the world. wildfires sweeping across australia cape town sonia and turkey. all the way to the north pole
deadly wildfires in california history. one of those fires began at 6:15 a.m. on november 8th, 2018, off camp creek road in butte county, when a downed power line ignited a small blaze into what quickly grew into what would be known as the campfire, one of california s most devastating and deadly fires on record. it was november, so i don t want to say our guard was down, but in november, typically, we would be having rain and winter and we weren t. now when we talk about fires, we think about firefighters running into a burning house to put the fire out. but in a wildfire situation, it can be a whole town. and often it is the town the firefighters live in. that s the situation chief totapia, chief norman, and captain matt blade found themselves in. they are cal fire officers in
6:15 a.m. on november 8th, november 18, off camp creek road. it quickly grew into what would become known as the camp fire, one of california s most devastating and deadly records on fire. it was november. so i don t want to say our guard was down. but in november, typically we would be having rain and winter, and we weren t. now when we talk about fires we think about firefighters running into a burning house to put the fire out. but in a wildfire situation, it can be a whole town. and often it s the town the firefighters live in. that s the situation chief joe tapia, chief sean norman found themselves in. they are cal fire officers from butte county. they were among the firefighters dispatched to tackle the blaze in their own backyard. i want to talk about the camp fire and how that affected this community, how it affected the three of you.