Hundreds of local residents took a positive step toward answering that question this month, turning out to the CineArts Sequoia theater in downtown Mill Valley for a screening of a documentary on the inferno that struck Concow, Paradise, Magalia and Chico in Butte County in November 2018. The “Camp Fire Documentary” was a two-fold fundraiser: to support Camp Fire victims, as well as the efforts of FIRESafe Marin, a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing wildland fire hazards and improving fire-safety awareness in Marin, in this case specifically in the form of a goat grazing program to reduce fire fuel.
The event, hosted by FIRESafeMarin and Mill Valley Fire Dept., with support from the Rotary Club of Mill Valley and several individual donors and sponsors, featured a screening of the 50-minute film from Golden Eagle Films that chronicles a small part of the story one county experienced during its darkest day. Butte County filmmaker Nancy Hamilton’s film is first-person account that draws on cell phone footage from more than three dozen individuals and first responders that encountered the fire.
”With this event, we both invested in our community’s efforts to reduce wildfire hazards in Marin County through FIRESafe Marin and supported the organizations that are supporting Camp Fire survivors,” Mill Valley Fire Department Chief Tom Welch says.
The screening was followed by a panel discussion including Welch and Mill Valley Mayor Jim Wickham, as well as the Camp Fire’s Deputy Incident Commander; Camp Fire survivors, as well as Stephen Murray, a 31-year resident of Paradise and a father of two young children who single-handedly rescued more than 60 senior citizens from a burning mobile home community during the fire.
The 411: FIRESafe Marin, Mill Valley Fire Dept., with support from the Rotary Club of Mill Valley, hosted a screening of the Camp Fire Documentary on May 14 at the CineArts Sequoia theater in Mill Valley. It raised more than $20,000 to support survivors of the Camp Fire, and to support FIRESafe Marin’s fledgling goat grazing program to reduce wildfire hazards in Marin. MORE INFO.