From ashes to action: How Paradise, CA is using recreation areas to reduce wildfire risks

As stewards of natural areas around the town and surrounding communities, the Paradise Recreation and Parks District (PRPD) plays an important role in mitigating wildfire risk in the area. We’re working together to design a new recreation area that will attract and educate visitors while reducing the risks of catastrophic fires.

Challenge

When the Camp Fire swept through Paradise, California, in November 2018, it left a path of destruction in its wake. The deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history, it killed 86 people and destroyed nearly 19,000 structures—about 95% of the town’s buildings.

As Paradise’s residents rebuild, boosting the town’s resistance and resilience to wildfire is critical: The rapid spread of the Camp Fire revealed the need for more (and better-positioned) fire evacuation routes to allow people to escape the blaze, as well as easier ways for firefighters to access a quickly moving fire that may ignite miles from the nearest road.

Community leaders also identified the need for landscape-scale defensible space—areas strategically designed around topography and extreme wind patterns to slow future fires before they reach homes and critical infrastructure. While these efforts may not eliminate wildfire risk, slowing the spread creates critical time for evacuation and gives firefighters more opportunity to respond.

Meanwhile, Paradise’s hilly terrain and scenic landscapes have long attracted outdoor recreation enthusiasts, including off-highway vehicle (OHV) users. However, illegal OHV use has created additional land management challenges, including erosion, illegal dumping, and trespassing on private property.

Solution

Addressing these interconnected challenges requires an interdisciplinary approach. PRPD’s Wildfire Buffer Project identifies areas most vulnerable to wildfire spread and strategically manages those lands as recreation spaces that also serve as buffers for nearby residential communities.

Dan Efseaff, a restoration ecologist with the Paradise Recreation and Park District, says his years working in floodplains taught him that “in places that you can give nature some room, you actually help fortify our infrastructure,” a principle he believes also applies to fire.

The buffer’s primary benefit would be limiting the spread of future fires, while also providing habitat for plants and animals and creating recreational opportunities for people. Efseaff says that "the buffer could also double as a backup evacuation route or a place for firefighters to stage equipment and establish lines of defense or could even serve as a refuge of last resort for those who cannot escape a fire."

PRPD’s broader resilience strategy builds on this concept by treating parks and open space as multi‑purpose community assets. Managed landscapes are designed to reduce wildfire risk while remaining accessible for recreation and everyday use, allowing them to serve critical functions during emergencies, such as evacuation staging and firefighter access. At the same time, these spaces support community well‑being by offering places for connection, recreation, and recovery as residents continue to heal from past wildfire trauma. PRPD is also exploring partnerships beyond public land, encouraging landowners to participate in coordinated management efforts that help create a connected network of open space aimed at reducing risk and strengthening long‑term community resilience.

Improving the design of OHV areas is an important part of the solution. When thoughtfully planned, a network of OHV trails could reduce illegal activity, protect natural resources, and provide lifesaving access routes and critical staging areas for wildland firefighters during future fires.

Where are we now?

ICF is conducting a high-level feasibility study on a PRPD property located at Jordan Hill Road to identify opportunities and constraints to building an OHV trailhead park on the 2.33-acre property, along with the feasibility of OHV use between the trailhead park site, adjacent roads and trails, and areas of interest including West Branch Feather River, Concow Lake, and High Lakes. The study will identify the best options for meeting PRPD’s goals, including meeting social, environmental, and financial criteria. Building partnerships with nearby landowners including public agencies will be critical to long-term success of the effort.

After determining that the site is a promising location for the trailhead, we’re working with PRPD to develop a more detailed concept design. The design will address how to accommodate higher visitor traffic and educate visitors on best practices, such as staying on designated trails to avoid damaging sensitive areas or igniting dry grasses that could spark a wildfire.

This Project is a key part of PRPD’s larger Wildland Buffer Project to reduce wildfire risk.