News
A sweet surprise
When Emily Zimmerman lost her Paradise home to the Camp Fire, her cupcake shop, Lovely Layers Cakery, became her refuge. She leaned into her second home, continuing to work and bake sweet treats while she […]
Wildfire
News
Animal Corps
The only wildlife spotted by CN&R reporters during a Sept. 10 trek into areas ravaged by the North Complex Fire were a pair of ravens ominously perched on a guardrail near the Bidwell Bar Bridge; […]
News
A smoky state
Due to millions of acres of wildfires burning in California, Oregon and Washington, the West Coast states had the worst air quality in the world this past weekend. Saturday and Sunday (Sept. 12-13) Chico’s air […]
News
‘Zero containment’ for Butte County wildfire
Update (Sept. 11, 7 a.m.): The West Zone of the North Complex grew overnight by more than 5,000 acres. It’s now at 70,412 acres with 5 percent containment. Seven more deaths have been confirmed for […]
News
North Complex Fire: Berry Creek images
A slideshow of images from the Berry Creek area taken in the wake of the North Complex: West Zone fire that swept through the area Sept. 8-9. Stay up to date on the fires and […]
News
Wildfire engulfs eastern Butte County
Update (Sept. 9, 7:28 p.m.): During an operational update tonight, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea announced that three people have died in the Bear Fire. Other than revealing that two of the deceased were found […]
News
Butte County evacuation orders
Update (Sept. 9, 12:50 a.m.): Evacuation orders in Butte County have expanded. In addition to the areas below, Cherokee Road at Hwy 70 south to Thompson Flat Cemetery Road and all areas east to Lake […]
News
Sifting through the recovery
It’s been almost two years since the Camp Fire destroyed Concow, and Inez Salinas is bathing her 4-year-old daughter in a plastic bin. River enjoys bath time with Mom, Salinas said, and couldn’t care less […]
News
Lightning fire updates
Update: At 4:40 p.m. today (Aug. 18), Cal Fire updated the the Butte Lightning Complex situation, raising the number of all active fires in the county to 35, and the acreage burned to 1,500 (including […]
News
Delivered from hunger
Jenny Lowrey couldn’t contain her excitement when the semi pulled into Yankee Hill Hardware on July 31. “Oh my god. Seventeen-hundred families are going to get free food today,” she said. “Ah, I love this!” […]
News
Disaster County
In early March, as coronavirus started to spread through the Sacramento Valley, Katy Thoma remained optimistic. She understood the gravity of the situation—Butte County officials had recently declared both a local emergency and a local […]
News
Anatomy of a surge
This is an update of previous story published on July 14, 2020. In early spring, health officials and providers across California braced for a flood of coronavirus patients. Spread of the disease elsewhere—such as New […]
Community Essays
Guest comment
“I hate it, too.” That was my message to one of my juniors back in April. Distance learning had been suddenly foisted upon us, and he was struggling with staying interested in it. I had […]
Camp Fire
Paradise premiere
This Friday (July 31), Rebuilding Paradise, the Camp Fire documentary by Ron Howard will be officially released, both online and in select theaters. The Academy Award-winning director—who has relatives who used to live in Paradise—spent […]
News
Fifteen Minutes: Patrick Hardy, disaster preparedness expert
With his new app, Disaster Hawk, Sacramento-based disaster preparedness expert Patrick Hardy aims to make disaster planning less confounding for families, small businesses and just about anybody. As COVID-19 numbers continue to rise, Hardy provides advice […]