The Los Angeles Times reports that despite a grand jury report calling for wider evacuation routes, Paradise town leaders did the opposite and reduced travel lanes on a key evacuation route.
Following a 2008 blaze, a grand jury report recommended improving evacuation routes so it wouldn’t take people fleeing a fire three hours to get out of Paradise.
In 2014, the town removed one lane of traffic in each direction, added parking and bike lanes, as well as curbs which jut out at intersections. The idea was supposed to be improved traffic safety.
The Butte County Fire Safe Council created a brochure to explain how drivers could use center turning lanes in emergencies. The brochure stated, “Residents who live along a one-way evacuation route that is being used are encouraged to shelter in place at your home.”
The bodies of many of the more than 80 people killed in the fire have been found in their homes.
KCRA said the mayor of Paradise, who was vice-mayor at the time the decision was made to reduce lanes on Skyway Road, did not respond to questions. She is a former CAL-TRANS traffic planner.
