Community Response

Barry Tippin, Redding City Manager

“When you have an emergency like this, if we’re not providing the information and filling the gaps with information that is helpful and germane to the issues that people are facing, they’ll fill it in themselves.”

When the Carr Fire rushed through Shasta County and eventually, through some neighborhoods of Redding, the city was as prepared as it could be for the disaster. When the ashes settled, Redding City Manager Barry Tippin faced the problem of helping both citizens with the loss of their homes and efficiently rebuilding damaged infrastructure. He regularly posted video updates in the immediate aftermath of the fire, believing that communication with the city’s residents about the ongoing process of rebuilding was key.

Carl Ladd, Bethel Global Response Coordinator for Disaster Response & Recovery

“You always know in the back of your mind that something could happen at home, right? Or there could be an event close by. You never really fully expect it to actually be your community… it’s just another level of emotional strain when it’s people you know and love that are going through it.”

For Bethel Church — a megachurch that calls Redding home — responding to disasters with its large volunteer force and vast resources is paramount. The church’s Global Response Ministry has been busy this year: it’s responded to hurricanes, fires and floods. When it sends out its volunteer corps, they help with debris management and restoration, and emotional and spiritual care. But it didn’t expect a disaster in its own backyard, said the ministry’s coordinator for disaster response and recovery, Carl Ladd.

Hope Seth, Creator of Carr Fire Stories Facebook Page

“I feel like the stories produced this sense of hope. I tried to find stories that were a sense of hope, of wonder, of surprise, the unexpected.”

Hope Seth didn’t lose her house in the fire, but she knew people who did, and saw a community shattered and devastated. She created Carr Fire Stories as a way to collect stories that might inspire hope that got lost in the news cycle. It’s grown into a page with over 3,000 likes, with people using it as both a way to get information coming out of Shasta County and as a way to find a community. Now, she’s working on a children’s book about the fire to help parents explain to their kids what a wildfire means. Seth has also been involved in public art projects with the city in order to commemorate the disaster.