Two Years Later: Hawaii fires hit close to home for Caldor Fire survivors
GRIZZLY FLATS -- The devastation happening in Maui is all too familiar for many people in California.
August 14 will mark two years since the Caldor Fire broke out just east of Omo Ranch Road and south of the community of Grizzly Flats. Just days after it started, it destroyed the gold rush town of Grizzly Flats in less than 15 minutes.
"We have people living in tents, taking baths in ponds, no insurance," said Tabatha Walker who lost her home in Grizzly Flats.
One of the hardest parts for fire survivors is the long road to recovery after losing everything. What once was forest is now clear and empty land.
"I could not see the mountains over there," said Walker.
Walker now watches the recovery from the back porch of her newly built home.
"I get to see the people rebuilding which brings me hope that our community can come back and be as strong as it once was," Walker said.
For many others, life is still spent living out of trailers and RVs on their burnt-out property.
Fire survivors just submitted claims to the U.S. Forest Service demanding money and answers for why their town burned. The federal agency said it did everything it could.
However, a CBS News 60 Minutes investigation showed the U.S. Forest Service actually shut down firefighting operations on the first night of the fire, and then the next day let nearly all the CAL FIRE crews go before their replacements could arrive.
"We want the forest service to be held accountable," Walker told CBS13.
The fire burned about 400 of the roughly 600 homes, and what was inside was irreplaceable.
"Memories and things from my childhood that are gone," said Walker. "You can't put a value on that, you can't replace that."
As Caldor Fire survivors try to move forward, what is happening in Maui hits close to home.
"It brings us to tears," said Caldor Fire survivor Jonathan Jochem. "It just reminds us of what we survived and what we went through."
He said it is a harsh reminder that this type of devastation can happen anywhere.
"It is easy to sit back and say oh that won't happen to me, but the reality is it probably will at some point," Jochem told CBS 13.
The Caldor Fire survivors said they sent out over 50 plus claims to the U.S. Forest Service this week. The problem is the mailing address for the Forest Service switched about a week ago, so now all those claims are being forwarded to the new address.
They hope they will make it before the two-year deadline since the town burned.
