By Michelle Wiley, September 14, 2020, KQED.
When Corinne and Bruce McCourt woke up to the news that there was a fire burning near their home in Stayton, Oregon, they didn't need any further warning.
"When we saw live ash coming down on the roof ... we just said, 'That's it, I can't do this. I'm not going to wait till the last minute and leave,' " said Corinne.
That's because the last time the McCourts saw the skies look like this — dark red and orange, with ash sprinkling down — it was November 2018, when the deadly and destructive Camp Fire raged through Paradise, Magalia and Concow, completely destroying their home.
"It's like ... how could this happen twice?" she asked.
As wildfires rage across the West, families who left Butte County after the devastating Camp Fire and made new homes in Oregon are now experiencing traumatic wildfires they thought they'd left behind.
And it's important to note that not everyone experiences these traumatic events equally. For instance, those who identify as Black, Indigenous or people of color may have experienced traumatic events that "have made a deep impact on the way they're moving through spaces," on top of concerns about wildfires, Domínguez said.
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