Paradise During A Pandemic: Remaining Residents Meet Devastation With Resilience
PARADISE (CBS13) — First it was the Camp Fire. Now, it's the coronavirus pandemic.
Two years after escaping the flames, the people of Paradise are trying to dodge this deadly virus.
And for many, it's bringing a lot of familiar and frightening feelings back to the surface. Despite it all, the community continues to meet devastation with resilience.
For Isaac Garroute, the hardest part has been making peace with his new reality.
"[I'm] tired of camping out in the RV but you know, you gotta do what you can to stay strong," Garroute said.
Even with all the basics up and running from his mobile home, things are far from comfortable now that COVID-19 has taken hold.
"It's a strange world up here, it's a whole new world. I used to have a lot of friends and family here but as you can see, there's nobody left around here anymore," he said.
READ ALSO: 'Rebuilding Paradise' Documents Aftermath Of The Camp Fire
That wave of isolation is met with growing frustration a few miles up the road at Catalana de Tro's property.
"You can't get toilet paper, you can't get wipes, you can't get any of your essentials, which was hard enough to get because there's nothing up here due to the fire," de Tro said. "Now we can't get anything."
But adapting is what this single mother says her hardy hometown knows how to do. So, in the face of a pandemic, she finds calm in the simple things like her apple tree.
"This is the one thing that did survive the fire on the property," de Tro said.
It's a reminder of strength and perhaps the best medicine for a community still healing from old wounds.