Wildfires in California destroyed the Paradise Fire filmmaker’s home in a tragic case of life imitating art
The documentary filmmaker behind “Rebuilding Paradise” is now living the life she once documented after losing everything in Palisade Fire.
Tracy Droz Tragos found herself in a situation where she and her family had to quickly evacuate their home because Pacific Palisades burned to the ground on January 7. After documenting the aftermath of a camp fire in 2018, Droz Tragos knew that if you didn’t move quickly, you’d be stuck at a standstill. The family did not take anything with them.
“Honestly, I thought this was a dry ride, I don’t know why,” said Droz Tragos The Hollywood Reporterr. – You really don’t think it will happen to you.
Droz Tragos lost everything and has been staying in an Airbnb near her family in Santa Barbara ever since. “An entire community, wiped off the face of the Earth,” she told the newspaper. “And it’s not just your house – it’s your neighbor’s house. It’s the park where you used to walk and enjoy the shade of the trees. It’s where you drink coffee. Where your kid goes to school. All of that.”
Tracy Droz Tragos lost her home in the Palisades fire. The director is known for her work on documenting the consequences of the camp fire in 2018. (Getty Images)
Droz Tragos is known for her documentary film “Rebuilding Paradise”. The Ron Howard-produced film used her footage from her time with residents affected by the 2018 Camp Fire in Butte County.
Campfire almost destroyed the entire city of Paradise, California – burning 95% of the area. Since then, most of the city has been rebuilt, and thousands have returned to the city.
The documentary filmmaker’s time with residents who experienced the loss of everything gave her unique knowledge of what to grab during a rapid evacuation.
“The neighbors said, ‘Why are you carrying toilet paper?'” Droz Tragos recalled. “And I said, ‘Trust me, you might find yourself in a situation without a bathroom and you’ll really wish you had toilet paper.'”
Air tanker drops on Palisades Fire. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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Droz Tragos lived in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, a coastal enclave for part of California’s elite. However, the director emphasized that the rich and famous are not the only residents of the district.
“I know people think Pacific Palisades is fancy, but there’s a whole part of it that really isn’t,” Droz Tragos told THR. “It’s multi-generational. The high school is a really great place for my child to go to school and meet people from all over.”
A person walks amid the destruction left behind by the Palisades fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood on January 9. (AP/Jae C. Hong)
“But that’s gone. The library is gone, the grocery store is gone. All the community touchpoints are gone. The place where the unusual Fourth of July parade takes place – gone.”
“There’s a sign in the barbershop that’s gone now, that if you’re rich you live in Beverly Hills, if you’re famous you live in Malibu, and if you’re lucky you live in Pacific Palisades.”
Droz Tragos shared some of her thoughts and updates about her situation on her Instagram. Caption next to the photo of the white board reads in part“I’ve been in survival mode – now – for 48 hours after learning of the loss of our home and Chris and my home offices (our only offices). We’ve moved on from the immediate aftermath and now we’re in a slightly different ” what now “. All previous to-do lists are suddenly meaningless – replaced. We start with a brand new one.”
She too he shared the photo himself holding a sign that reads: “You never know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Toilet paper, for example.”
In the caption, she wrote in part: “I don’t know what to do with the sadness that comes in waves. A mug I’ll never see again – clothes I’ve collected for special events throughout my life and will never be replaced .. great-great-grandmother’s watch when I see photos our Christmas tree, my heart aches – it’s all gone.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Droz Tragos for additional comment.
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A house burned as the Camp Fire spread through Paradise, California on November 8, 2018. Fueled by high winds and low humidity, the fast-moving Camp Fire swept through the town of Paradise and quickly charred 18,000 acres, destroying dozens of homes in a matter of hours. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Camp fire in 2018, documented by Droz Tragos “Rebuilding Paradise”, will repeat again with “The Lost Bus” Jamie Lee Curtis. Curtis’ Comet Pictures and Jason Blum’s Blumhouse worked to develop the film based on Lizzie Johnson’s book “Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire.”
The Camp Fire, known as the deadliest wildfire in California history, destroyed over 18,000 homes and businesses, leaving 85 dead. “The Lost Bus” will tell the story of Kevin McKay, a bus driver, and Mary Ludwig, a school teacher, who help rescue 22 children from a school during a fast-moving forest fire.
Matthew McConaughey is in talks to star in the film to Deadline. However, sources claim that the deals have not yet been finalized, and the film still needs the studio’s green light.
Fox News Digital has reached out to McConaughey’s rep for comment.
Matthew McConaughey is reportedly in talks to play the lead in Jamie Lee Curtis’ “The Lost Bus.” (John Nacion/Getty Images)
An aerial view of the destruction of a neighborhood caused by a camp fire on November 15, 2018 in Paradise, California. Ninety-five percent of the city was destroyed by a forest fire. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Destruction in Los Angeles began on January 7 after palisade fire started burning around 11 a.m. local time. By the end of the day, a total of three fires left a path of complete destruction in the area. Since then, more fires have broken out, leading to more evacuations throughout the community.
Water dropped by helicopter on the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of LA on January 9. (Ethan Swope/AP)
Multiple fires burned for days and reduced 10,000 homes and businesses to ash, leaving 10 people dead as thousands fled the Los Angeles County area.
In all, the fires have consumed about 56 square miles (142 square kilometers) – more than the size of San Francisco – as of Friday.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
