Kids’ slow recovery from California’s deadliest wildfire

Students play on the playground at Achieve Charter School of Paradise in Paradise on May 21, 2025. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

In the town that saw California’s deadliest wildfire seven years ago, a state-of-the-art elementary school is rising. It’ll have a STEM lab, soccer field and outdoor stage — manifestations of Paradise’s hopes for its future.

But while breaking ground and constructing a new 46,000-square-foot campus is one achievement, the road to recovery for the students of Paradise remains long, complex and difficult. It’s a hardship that is likely to become more common throughout the state as the threat of wildfires intensifies, writes CalMatters’ Carolyn Jones.

The 2018 Camp Fire killed 85 people, destroyed more than 18,000 buildings — including most of the town’s dozen schools — and displaced at least 26,000 people. In its aftermath, Paradise Unified reported 154 school closure days, which affected about 4,200 students, according to a CalMatters analysis.

Compounded by learning loss from the pandemic, only 13% of graduating seniors in Paradise Unified met the entrance requirements for California’s public universities last year or completed a career training program, compared with 45% statewide. Only 11% of eighth graders also met the state’s standard for math, and 18% of sixth graders were reading at grade level. District enrollment remains less than half what it was before the fire.

But in the wake of a catastrophe, stressing academic performance or attendance while prioritizing students’ mental health is a delicate balance: For most kids, anxiety and grief stemming from the Camp Fire has made focusing on schoolwork a monumental task. Teachers who lost their homes and now commute long distances have also struggled during the fallout of the wildfire.

Myah Poe, a recent graduate of HomeTech charter school in Paradise, lost her home to the fire. After living in motels and rentals with her family, she was able to return to Paradise two years ago.

Poe: “People see disasters on the news and they think, ‘Oh, that happened, it’ll be over after a year.’ It’s not. It stays with you for a long, long time.”

Read more here.

Christine Dougherty, right, testifies at the Senate Committee on Health at the Capitol Annex Swing Space in Sacramento on April 9, 2025. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters

In the past few months, Christine Matlock Dougherty traveled more than 400 miles from her Yucaipa home in San Bernardino County to Sacramento on three separate occasions to advocate for two bills that would have regulated mental health insurance. 

The measures failed to advance this year, but Dougherty pledges to press on in honor of her son, writes CalMatters’ Jocelyn Wiener.

Ryan Matlock died of a fentanyl overdose in 2021 after his insurance plan declined to continue covering his stay at an addiction treatment center. After speaking with CalMatters last year about her 23-year-old son’s passing, lawmakers asked her to testify on behalf of two bills to help prevent similar tragedies.

But in a tough budget year for the state, both bills were held in committees that oversee new spending. In the face of those legislative losses, however, Dougherty vows to continue her fight: “I will do it again. For Ryan.”

Read more here.

Advocates and lobbyists in the Capitol Rotunda at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Sept. 14, 2023. Photo by Rahul Lal for CalMatters

Though it’s not unusual for top leaders in California’s government to iron out legislative deals behind closed doors during the last days of session, this week is particularly notable because the fate of so many consequential bills is still up in the air, writes CalMatters’ Yue Stella Yu.

Before lawmakers adjourn Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Democratic legislative leaders and their staff are working to make deals on whether to join a regional electricity market with other Western states; bolster the state’s wildfire funds; and increase California’s oil production. A $750 million loan for Bay Area public transit systems is also in limbo, with no clear resolution to date.

This lack of transparency is frustrating some lobbyists and advocates, who find themselves relying on draft bill language leaked to news outlets for information. 

But withholding details about deals could help measures advance, since it allows lobbyists less time to object, said former Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, a Los Angeles Democrat. 

Rendon: “Is that the best thing to do? Is that the most democratic thing to do? No. That’s the way our system works.”

Read more here.

A hallway towards the Assembly Appropriations Committee at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Sept. 1, 2023. Photo by Rahul Lal for CalMatters

Speaking of last-minute deals, representatives from the fossil fuels industry, business groups and the state’s trade unions are coming together to oppose the extension of California’s greenhouse gas emissions reductions program through 2045. It’s a move lawmakers are scrambling to hammer out by the end of this week. Read more from CalMatters’ Maya C. Miller.