Paradise was Zitha's family home since 1938, her grandparents moved into their home in 1943.  Her grandfather passed away in 2009, but her grandmother still lived in the home, barely escaping along with her family, friends and neighbors. 

 Her grandmother helped her disabled neighbor into her car, barely escaping through the wall of flames.  Stratton’s market was beginning to burn as they drove by, bumper to bumper, with fire bombs flying, explosions booming all around them. The air turned pitch black, and traffic stalled.   Her neighbor was in extreme pain and was recovering from a broken pelvis.  Both of homes burned to the ground along with the homes of 14 other family members, leaving 51 people without a home.



The deadliest and most destructive fire in California history erupted at dawn on Nov. 8 in the drought-parched Sierra foothills northeast of Chico, and within minutes, stiff winds whipped it into a monster. At first what has come to be known as the Camp Fire devoured 10 football-field-size chunks of terrain every minute — and then, with a startling ferocity that has become all too familiar in recent years, it rampaged through Butte County neighborhoods. With little to no warning, residents fled the town of Paradise and surrounding villages down the few car-choked escape routes, but many never had a chance. More than a week later, the blaze continues to burn as officials log the ever-increasing tallies of devastation: Scores dead, hundreds missing, and more than 11,000 homes destroyed. Recovery is expected to take years.

-San Franciso Chronicle