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ausetkmt · 2 years

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The Lincoln Heights community endured for decades, despite segregation, economic hardship and a pandemic. Then came the Mill fire.

When the Mill fire ripped through Weed, Calif., just before Labor Day weekend, the hardest-hit area was a historically Black neighborhood that dates back nearly a century.Credit...Brian L. Frank for The New York Times

Oct. 7, 2022

WEED, Calif. — The gray rubble appears suddenly on both sides of the highway winding through this small Northern California town, as houses give way to a landscape of charred wreckage and the remains of homes, bleached white by wildfire.

The devastation stretches for blocks. Metal skeletons of cars and blackened trees indicate where properties once stood in the shadow of Mount Shasta.

This neighborhood, Lincoln Heights, was once the thriving and vibrant home of a Black community — a rare sight in predominantly white, rural Siskiyou County, which hugs the Oregon border. Black laborers moved here from Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas to work at a lumber mill in the 1920s, and their descendants continued to live in houses on the outskirts of town, passed down through generations.

For decades, the mill next to Lincoln Heights offered opportunity and hope for those seeking a job and a better life. Now, residents see it as a symbol of the neighborhood’s destruction. Roseburg Forest Products, the mill’s owner, has said it is investigating whether hot ash in its facility started the Mill fire, which ripped through Lincoln Heights before exploding to 4,000 acres in early September.

In Weed, the Mill fire consumed most of Lincoln Heights, killing two people and destroying nearly 60 homes. The park that served as a gathering place is all that remains of the eastern side of the neighborhood.

“You can build that house back. But that home is a most special place,” said Andrew Greene, 84, who raised his children in Lincoln Heights. “It’s a place of culture, it’s a place of growth, it’s a place of remembrance and most of all it’s a place of love.”

The rapid blaze was the latest in a series of fires in California that, as the climate warms, have leveled neighborhoods like Coffey Park in Santa Rosa, or towns like Paradise and Greenville. That devastation has forced wildfire victims to choose between rebuilding or starting life anew elsewhere.

The hints of life from before the fire are few in Lincoln Heights. A child’s bicycle abandoned on the side of the road. A pocket watch peeking through debris. At one property, atop porch steps that lead nowhere, sits a vase of fresh flowers as a memorial.

Many residents have pledged to rebuild. But they worry that enough of their neighbors will flee to other cities for the spirit of the old neighborhood to be lost for good.

In the 1920s, hundreds of Black Southerners made the journey to rural Northern California, lured by the promise of employment, for $3.60 a day, at the sawmill owned by the Long-Bell Lumber Company, which had just closed two mills in Louisiana as it searched for untouched forests out west.

The company lent workers the train fare and provided them with wooden houses amid the aspens and pines in a small place called Weed. It was a company-owned, segregated town, and Black mill workers and their families were required to live on the northern outskirts. That neighborhood was known as the Quarters and, later, Lincoln Heights.

For decades, Black residents of Weed had their own church, barbershops and nightclubs, according to residents and a 2011 documentary about the neighborhood’s history produced by Mark Oliver, a filmmaker. They were prohibited from being buried in the white-only graveyard, so they had to dig their own. Black people could shop in some white-owned stores and cafes, but they couldn’t linger.

“Your parents would buy you an ice cream cone, you had to go outside to eat it — you couldn’t use the counter,” recalled Al Bearden, a retired probation officer who grew up in Weed.

At the sawmill, white workers were given safer, more lucrative jobs indoors. The only integration came at school — where white and Black children learned together before returning to their cloistered communities — and on the Weed Sons, the town’s baseball team.

That began to change in the 1950s and 1960s, when the civil rights movement slowly arrived in Siskiyou County. In Weed, Black residents arranged sit-ins at restaurants that wouldn’t serve them and boycotted businesses until they agreed to hire them.

Black residents said they still faced discrimination in subsequent years. At school, they said, white children would use racial slurs and make fun of those who had less money.

Lincoln Heights residents said theirs was the kind of neighborhood where children who were spotted misbehaving by a local elder could expect a call to their family home that evening. On Sundays, the Mt. Shasta Baptist Church was full.

The center of social life was 13-acre Charlie Byrd Park, named after the first elected Black sheriff in California, who grew up in Weed and led Siskiyou County’s law enforcement agency for 16 years.

“On the weekends, that was always packed,” said Lawrence Robison, 39, who grew up in the neighborhood. “Family gatherings, barbecues — just a place to go and relax at the end of the day.”

At work, times were getting tougher.

In 1982, the International Paper Company, which had succeeded Long-Bell, sold the sawmill to Roseburg Forest Products, a transaction that residents mark as the beginning of the decline of the local logging business. Around that time, advances in automation and a growing environmental movement curtailed lumber jobs.

Some found other lines of work, at the local community college, the water bottling plant and restaurants, or in nearby towns. But others left the region entirely. In 2020, nearly a third of Weed households lived below the poverty line, according to census data.

As longtime Lincoln Heights residents moved to bigger cities, Mexican, Laotian, Filipino and white families took their place. Members of the younger generations said it is now much more common to see people with different racial and economic backgrounds mingling than it was when their parents were children.

“It was a change, but it was a good change,” said Angel Whatley, 24, who grew up in Lincoln Heights.

Weed likes to present its diversity as a success story. Mayor Kim Greene, who is white, calls the city “the melting pot for all the nationalities.”

The city accounts for 6 percent of the population in Siskiyou County, but has 36 percent of the county’s Black residents, based on 2020 census data. It also has a higher share of Hispanic and Asian American residents than the county as a whole.

Still, Black residents say the decades-old struggle for fair treatment continues. Mayor Pro Tem Stacey Green, who is Black, said racism in Weed is “sneaky.”

“It’s behind your back,” he said.

Mr. Green said the city didn’t repave a road in Lincoln Heights until he threatened to call the National Urban League, a civil rights group, while a new street sweeper never made an appearance in the neighborhood until he complained.

The city manager, Tim Rundel, said he understood how Mr. Green and some residents might feel. But, he said, narrow streets in the old neighborhood have made it challenging for street sweepers and snowplows to navigate around parked cars. “It’s been a struggle in Lincoln Heights and other neighborhoods throughout Weed,” he said.

More than 250 miles north of San Francisco, Siskiyou County is still a place where residents scorn the state’s Democratic leadership. Though Weed is more liberal than Siskiyou County as a whole, some Lincoln Heights residents say the presidency of Donald J. Trump deepened political and racial tensions in town.

On the surface, people in Weed “still get along quite well,” Andrew Greene said. But he takes pains to avoid topics that could cause tempers to flare.

“The two rules of the bar — two things you don’t discuss or you shouldn’t discuss: One is politics, the other is religion,” Mr. Greene said.

In the early afternoon of Sept. 2, Weed was sweltering as California braced for the beginning of a record heat wave. Fierce wind gusts brought some relief, but also threatened to send flames and embers flying.

Just before 1 p.m., Pastor Alonzo Greene, Andrew’s son, was standing on the front porch of his childhood home in Lincoln Heights with his wife, smiling proudly because his adult children had just finished moving into the old wooden house his grandparents had built.

Down the block, his father was sitting down for lunch. Suddenly, he heard frantic knocking on his door. “Fire,” his neighbor gasped out.

Then they heard a boom.

In what felt like an instant, the neighborhood was engulfed in smoke, and the billowing winds sent flames from the direction of the mill into the neighborhood.

The younger Mr. Greene plunged into the smoke, kicking in neighbors’ doors and hauling children, pets and seniors into his pickup truck. His father rushed a neighbor and the child she was babysitting into his own truck and started driving blindly through the haze, trusting his memory of the road to guide them to safety.

A few blocks away, Patricia Mitchell’s phone was ringing. It was her sister, asking about the smoke nearby.

“So I got up and went, ‘Well, I don’t see nothing,’” recalled Ms. Mitchell, 68. “The next thing I know, there’s black smoke everywhere.”

She escaped, but her house and all of her possessions — including her wedding ring and coin collection — were gone.

“Every time I think about this fire, it brings me down, because so much was lost,” she said.

Mr. Green, the mayor pro tem, was also in trouble. He rushed out of his house without shoes, into the thick smoke.

“I couldn’t see any skies, and it started getting into my lungs,” he recalled. “I thought, ‘I’m going to die right now.’”

Finally, he saw a glimmer of blue above him and made it to safety.

“My life started there: My first tricycle ride was down my driveway, my first birthday party. And everything I knew was all there — pictures of my parents on the wall. I don’t have none of that left,” Mr. Green said, choking up.

Not everyone in Lincoln Heights survived. Two women, Marilyn Hilliard, 73, and Lorenza Glover, 65, died in the fire. Three others, including Ms. Hilliard’s husband, were injured.

At least three lawsuits have been filed against Roseburg, including a wrongful-death suit by Ms. Glover’s son that says she died as she tried to escape the flames. Ms. Hilliard died of a heart attack during the fire, residents said.

Roseburg officials said the company will provide $50 million for a “community restoration fund,” but that the money is not an admission of liability.

“We’re committed to doing the right thing for Weed, for Lake Shastina, for the long haul,” said Pete Hillan, a Roseburg spokesman.

Mr. Green wasn’t satisfied. “You’re trying to give $50 million to shut our mouths,” he said.

In the weeks since the fire, Lincoln Heights residents have scattered to nearby towns, staying with relatives, filling motels and finding temporary housing. Not everyone plans to return. Many lack the money or insurance to rebuild.

“I’ll move on — I’ll move to L.A.,” said R.T. Smith, who lost his house and all his possessions in the fire. “I’m about tired of this little town,” he added.

Others hope to restore the community. In mid-September, several dozen displaced residents were staying at the Hi-Lo Motel in Weed, where Alonzo Greene led them in a brief prayer twice a day.

“If I broke down and started crying, it really shook all of these people,” he said. “So I had to get to a point where I just take a drive by myself if I want to cry, because I couldn’t let them see it.”

He paused for a moment, gathering himself. “It’s been tough.”

#Wildfire Destroys a Piece of Black History in Rural California #Mill Fire #Weed Fire #Black California #Fires #Climate Change #climate refugees #Mt.Shasta #Lincoln Heights

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mostlyclimatechangeweatherlog · 2 years

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youtube

#california #wildfire #mill fire #september #2022 #Youtube

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rjzimmerman · 2 years

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Excerpt from this story from the Washington Post:

California firefighters on Saturday battled a fast-moving fire that erupted the previous afternoon about 230 miles north of Sacramento, injuring several people and prompting the mandatory evacuation of thousands of residents.

The Mill Fire, which has devastated 3,921 acres of land, was listed as 20 percent contained as of 7:25 a.m. local time Saturday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. It was first detected Friday afternoon in Weed, Calif., a largely rural town of just under 2,900 located 40 miles south of the Oregon border, according to the state fire department.

The fire expanded significantly faster than many other blazes that have burned through fire-racked California in recent days. Fire units from the Sacramento and Placer County area have also been deployed to support operations around Weed, which logged temperatures of above 90 degrees in the late afternoon.

Video footage posted on social media showed flames ravaging residential areas, burning forested land and destroying at least one industrial building in the Weed area. Municipal leaders and California fire officials could not be reached for comment late Friday, but the Associated Press reported that several people had been injured. The mayor of Weed told the Los Angeles Times that the fire appeared to have started at a lumber mill close to the town.

#Mill fire #California #wildfire

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sithhoplite · 2 years

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I've been evacuated for the third time in eight years due to a wildfire today. This time it's the Mill Fire. My son and I are safe but I am exhausted emotionally and mentally.

#Shak rants #Mill fire #wildfires #wildfire

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neonpigeons · 2 years

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a huge out of control wildfire just started near Mt. Shasta :( one of my friends has family up there and I know some people up there too. started near the town of Weed (yeah haha weed fire so funny... 😐). hopefully everybody gets out okay 😔

#i drive through there all the time! I've visited multiple times. this is so bad 😞#ari speaks #mill fire

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lfnewswire · 2 years

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Reiner, Slaughter, Mainzer & Frankel Files Lawsuit in Mill Fire Case

Reiner-Slaughter-Mainzer-Frankel Redding, CA (Law Firm Newswire) September 15, 2022 – Local law firm seeks compensation for plaintiff’s home destroyed by fire. Reiner, Slaughter, Mainzer & Frankel filed a lawsuit against Roseburg Forest Products Co., in Siskiyou County Superior Court. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Weed resident Tim Smith whose home was destroyed in the Mill Fire, alleges the…

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#Mill Fire #Mill Fire Damage #Reiner Slaughter Mainzer & Frankel #Wildfire Damage Attorney #Wildfire Damage Lawyer #Wildfire Lawyer

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emergencymanagementnews · 2 years

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A prolonged heat wave in Northern California sucked the moisture from the vegetation on the ground. This could lead to devastating wildfires.

#mill fire

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blluespirit · 4 months

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i wish that there was more time between the day of black sun and sozin's comet bc zuko's official desertion from the fire nation would have the most insane ripple effects (and it would be nice to see the gaang interacting a bit more than we got but hey i'll take what i can get)

zuko's desertion would have been essentially impossible for the fire nation to bury since it was such a big deal that he returned at all. so i imagine the smear campaign against zuko would have been craaazy. i think it would have been interesting for the gaang to try and deal with that when navigating the FN. zuko would be very recognisable i think at this point, and it would have made staying hidden much harder. would they still have chosen ember island? maybe the kids didn't recognise zuko and azula during The Beach , but with the prince of the fire nation committing treason would there be more wanted posters? would there be more talk around the island? would zuko have to remain hidden while the rest go out and get food?

i wonder if zuko deserting and very meaningly committing his loyalty to the avatar influenced other soldiers in the FN to also desert? or would it have had the opposite effect and made people feel more patriotic since zuko was banished, returned under the guise of having killed the avatar, and then left when aang announced his survival to world during the failed invasion?

SPEAKING OF THAT!! the rumours around this would be INSANE. we know what really happened, but the public don't. did zuko and the avatar plan this so that there would be an inside man during the invasion and then zuko used that chaos to escape? what really happened in ba sing se if zuko didn't kill aang, but azula thought that he did? (again: we, the audience know the truth, but the general public don't). if zuko and the avatar where working together... for how long? was iroh involved somehow since he also disappeared the same time that zuko did? did iroh get captured on purpose to be close to zuko to possibly help him if needed? did zuko break iroh out of jail or did one of the guards or was iroh alone? you could spiral on this as just an average person in the avatar world for years like. if youtube existed in atla imagine the video essays breaking down all the conspiracies

its a kids show so obviously Nothing Bad Happened BUT in the Boiling Rock, zuko getting found out as not only an imposter (already, a very bad situation), a traitor (extremely bad), AND the traitorous (ex) prince of the fire nation (devastatingly terrible) would have been... incredibly dangerous for zuko. in zuko and iroh's original wanted poster, the official translation says “Permission is granted to kill them on sight” and this was before zuko has gone right ahead and committed Treason On Purpose. the warden is not going to be nice. when the warden visits zuko in his cell he literally tells him "If these criminals found out who you are, the traitor prince who let his nation down, why they'd tear you to shreds." the boiling rock would be hell trying to survive. it also puts a lot more weight on zuko refusing to leave sokka in their first escape attempt. also ozai obviously knew that he has his son was in prison bc he... broke in to the prison bc azula was there but then zuko manages to escape with sokka (another imposter) and suki and hakoda (POWs) and chit sang (a prisoner) and two of azula's trusted friends end up in prison for treason as well i just. that is literally insane for the average person to hear about. again, THE CONSPIRACIES!!

when zuko eventually does take the throne there's a lot of conjecture around what zuko did while he was banished and moreso, what he did the second time he left, this time voluntarily. i think zuko's loyalty would be questioned a lot; by other world leaders who are understandably wary about the fire nation and its motivations, but also by its own people - some who believe that zuko is a traitor to his country and is trying to sabotage it since he helped end the war.

idk these are all just me rambling but it would been so interesting to explore the implications of zuko leaving the fire nation and how that would have impacted the gaang and how they interacted with others in their travels. there are so many fic where zuko joins the gaang early, but neither myself with the aus that I have written, nor many that ive read have explored this very much or at all.

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once28 · 9 months

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It’ll always be such a shame that Neal died. Like there’s the obvious reasons; death sad, no endgame yk

But also Emma and Neal were such a funny ship when they wanted to be like “Oh no I taught her that” will never fail to make me laugh. Also the exacerbated sigh Neal lets out in that moment, he’s like “omg god wtf is she up to 🙄.” Then with Henry being a mini them in training is just the cherry on top. They truly deserved to be one of those couples with endless “…being chaotic for 5 five minutes straight” compilations on YT

And the humor out of the co-parenting relationship with Regina we were robbed of would’ve been epic too, you can’t tell me Regina and Neal wouldn’t have the best sibling-like banter. I can just see her try to be intimidating and he’d have these snarky remarks like my father was the dark one you don’t scare me 😑

It’s just a shame that so much of his/their story is overshadowed by the sad stuff

#emma x neal #emma swan #neal cassidy #baelfire #swanfire #swanthief #once upon a time #OUAT #regina mills #henry mills #cobra fire

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doodlesandbooks · 1 month

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My modern AU design of Alear!

Design explanations under the cut:

I am keeping the ludicrous hair colours and eye colours of all the characters, but I think Alear dyes her red hair half blue, I have a reason for this in the story.

She likes slouchy clothes for around the house I think (outfit 1), and the Pepsi logo is obviously a reference to her nickname Pepsi chan.

I went for the second one a sort of decora kai inspired outfit, since the bright colours and too-muchness of the style seemed reminiscent of the engage designs.

The last one is a bit more similar to her normal outfit but with a modern spin.

#alear #fire emblem engage #fe engage #fire emblem #modern au #f!alear #Flora Mill Street

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sithhoplite · 2 years

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#mill fire #evacuation

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the-malfunctioning-somnambulist · 10 months

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As someone very accurately put it, water in Utena symbolises illusion (even when Nanami drowns the kitten, it's misguided), but fire would be honesty and realism. Touga burning Saionji's exchange diary, the burning of the research hall, the candles of Utena's rationality being blown out by Akio's grooming... but also there's so little fire in comparison with water.

#rgu #revolutionary girl utena #ruka is a comet - made of fire - and he comes to expose shiori's rottenness but exposes juri's final feelings instead #etc.#water is for soothing for stifling for going with the flow #there is not supposed to be a true revolution bevause ohtori is a water mill

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echos-muses · 10 months

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i will literally never be over how peter mills is the one who went to hold matt after he got the news that hallie died. not even gabby could do it, but peter did it without hesitation. even though he felt some type of way towards casey, he went to comfort him when someone he loved and almost married died. everyone else was so shocked and didn’t know what to do, but peter? peter mills’s gut instinct was to put his personal feelings aside and comfort someone who he thought was making his life at work hell on purpose because he was with gabby. peter mills who instantly took in a puppy because it would’ve been drowned otherwise. peter mills who always tried to get people to smile. peter mills who lovingly cooked for everyone. i will never ever ever not love peter mills so much. he was such a great addition to the show. he was empathetic, kind, hard-working, ambitious, caring, determined. i love chicago fire so fucking bad, this show has genuinely made me sob so many times, so many ways, for so many different reasons.