Wildfire in Paradise | Engulfed | 3

Against The Odds

Wondery

Cassie De Pecol, History, Society & Culture, Dolby, Mike Corey, Dolby Atmos, Atmos

4.7 • 7.2K Ratings

🗓️ 11 October 2022

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

As the fire rages and traffic on the main roads out of Paradise comes to a standstill, firefighters realize evacuation is no longer a viable option. First responders race to locate places of refuge within the town, where trapped civilians and other firefighters can wait out the fire as safely as possible. Meanwhile, other residents and firefighters find themselves stuck in gridlock, with nowhere to go as the flames close in.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, Prime members, you can listen to against the odds at free on Amazon music. Download the app today.
0:15.8	Joe Kennedy plows through the backyard of a small ranch house, riding high in the seat of his caterpillar bulldozer.
0:22.9	With its thick treads and massive steel shovel, the vehicle looks more like a tank than a bulldozer.
0:30.8	Kennedy crashes over bushes and vegetation, tearing up everything in his path.
0:36.6	Heavy middle music lasts from the bulldozer's sound system.
0:41.1	It's late morning on November 8, 2018 in Paradise, California.
0:46.6	Kennedy is a heavy equipment operator for Cal Fire. He's 36 years old. Tall,
0:52.6	with broad shoulders. Earlier this morning, he was dispatched from his home 75 miles away to help fight the fire in Paradise.
1:02.1	At first, he was sent to Feather River Hospital, but when he arrived, there was nobody there to give him orders.
1:09.0	So he's taken it upon himself to save as many houses around the hospital as he can.
1:13.8	Smoke and Embers fill the air. Kennedy's heart is pumping, and every one of his nerves feels unedged.
1:23.3	But as an adrenaline junkie, it's a feeling he knows well.
1:27.7	Kennedy works his way around the property, grinding up earth to create a buffer zone around the house.
1:34.2	Ordinarily, his job is to create a perimeter around a fire.
1:38.1	He knocks down trees and uproots brush to create a swath of land with nothing to burn,
1:44.5	boxing the fire in and preventing it from spreading.
1:48.7	But today is different. The wildfire has become an urban fire.
1:53.5	The flames are jumping from structure to structure.
1:57.0	Maybe this way, he can at least slow the spread.
2:01.5	As Kennedy makes his way to another house, his radio chirps.
2:04.9	This is John Jessen. We're on Pearson Road. We are an urgent need of air support.
2:10.2	We're trapped and the fire wall is directly ahead of us.
	...

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