Paradise gets huge share as Newsom unveils grants for California towns ravaged by 2018 fires

Federal grants totaling more than $317 million will go toward helping seven jurisdictions recover and rebuild after devastating 2018 wildfires that burned more than 1.6 million acres and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses.

Nearly $200 million of the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funds will go to the town of Paradise, the location of California’s deadliest wildfire, according to the press office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom in a Friday announcement.

The Camp Fire killed 86 people and wiped out 90% of the town, according to previous reporting by The Sacramento Bee.

The funds will be used to “construct critical projects that will accelerate (the town’s) capacity to rebuild higher density and more affordable housing, business corridors and critical evacuation routes in the event they face future disasters,” the governor’s office stated.

“Rebuilding together is the foundation of the ongoing recovery effort in the Town of Paradise,” state Department of Housing and Community Development Director Gustavo Velasquez said. “This award of nearly $200 million will support critical infrastructure for the town as it rebuilds with resilience and climate mitigation central to its goals.”

In August 2018, the Carr and the Mendocino Complex fires erupted in Northern California. The Camp and Woolsey fires followed in November 2018. The four were the most destructive and deadly wildfires in California in 2018.

The funds were awarded based on the communities’ “unmet infrastructure needs,” according to the governor’s office. The office said the communities “have the flexibility to use the grants to support projects based on their priorities to rebuild in a safe, sustainable and resilient way.”

“These dollars represent a major milestone for communities that withstood unimaginable tragedy because of these devastating wildfires,” Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency Secretary Lourdes Castro Ramírez said. “We will continue to work closely with our federal partners in the Biden Administration to bring resources to communities faster and more equitably when disasters hit.”

CDBG-DR funds are administered by the Housing and Community Development after receiving the federal allocation by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through the federal CDBG-DR program, according to the governor’s office.

Here are the jurisdictions and the total amounts awarded:

▪ Butte County, $72,722,679.61

▪ City of Chico, $12,388,409.65

▪ City of Malibu, $47,276.93

▪ City of Redding, $22,563,043.51

▪ City of Shasta Lake, $6,326,184.69

▪ Los Angeles County, $3,788,157.86

▪ Town of Paradise, $199,592,735.75

“California remains committed to uplifting and supporting every community impacted by devastating wildfires as they work to rebuild,’‘ Newsom said. “Rebuilding after communities are tragically destroyed due to extreme weather is an opportunity to restore economic opportunities and strengthen communities giving them an opportunity to heal.”

This story was originally published August 20, 2022 at 1:35 PM.