Resilience Roundtable: After the Camp Fire, Part 1

In a two-part episode, Bill Siembieda, AICP, PhD, talks with
Butte County, California, planning staff about the aftermath of
the 2018 Camp Fire — one of the deadliest and costliest wildfires
in the state's history, with 85 casualties and more than 50,000
people evacuated from their homes.


Part I of these conversations features Dan Breedon, AICP,
principal planner for Butte County. Dan describes how people
throughout the county had a dire need for temporary housing the
very day the fire began on November 8, 2018; he also talks about
how the creation of an urgency ordinance became paramount. Dan
explains why the specific topography of the area added to their
challenges, as well as what the most critical land-use issues are
now that the disaster has occurred. Ultimately, listeners learn
about how, in the wake of this disaster, local agencies are
focusing on improving resilience and adopting better land-use
policies, not simply on maintaining a swift response strategy.


Bill Siembieda, AICP, PhD, is professor of city and regional
planning at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis
Obispo.