A California man has watched two of his homes burn down in wildfires over the past six years, killing his cat.
Rick Pero’s Forest Ranch estate has been destroyed by the Park Fire, a massive blaze currently raging across Butte, Plumas, Shasta and Tehama counties.
But for Pero, it’s déjà vu, who was forced to leave his previous home in Paradise six years earlier when the Camp Fire devastated the area in November 2018.
The two-week blaze was the deadliest wildfire in California history, killing 85 people and destroying more than 18,000 structures, including the home where Pero lived with his wife. Their cat, unfortunately, did not survive the recent inferno.
“There was a chair that he would like to hide under because he was a little shy. They probably found him curled up there,” Pero said. Action News Now as he recalls how rescuers found his beloved pet, Catmandu.
Californian Rick Pero (pictured left) has revealed he was forced to leave his home after his house was destroyed twice by raging wildfires
“There was a chair that he would like to hide under because he was a little shy. They probably found him curled up there,” Pero told Action News Now as he recalled how rescuers found his beloved pet, named Catmandu
A California man has revealed he has been forced to leave his home twice in the past six years after it was destroyed by raging wildfires
“We have to let him go so we can have closure and enjoy the years we spent with him. Now he is at peace.”
“He’s had a pretty crazy life,” Pero said, adding that they also had another cat, Riley.
“Both of our cats were from the shelter and he was found there with Scotty’s and we found him at the Humane Society and he just hugged us. He was family.
“Neither my wife nor I had children, so he was our youngest little furry boy.”
The couple is receiving support from the nonprofit Team Rubicon, which is helping them dig up any remaining belongings, such as jewelry, from the rubble.
Pero said their home, like that of their neighbors, was completely destroyed by the Camp Fire.
“There was a chair that he would like to hide under because he was a little shy. They probably found him curled up there,” Pero told Action News Now as he recalled how rescuers found his beloved pet, named Catmandu
The Park Fire, which started Wednesday in Chico, has grown into an uncontrollable 307,368-acre blaze raging through two Northern California counties
Pero indicated that he is considering leaving the state and moving to safer territory.
And they are not the only ones.
A new report shows how climate change will reshape America’s cities in the coming years as people increasingly leave flood, heat and wildfire zones, such as Northern California, for quieter places.
Scientists told DailyMail.com that several cities are ‘slowly dying’13694835 as residents flee popular waterfront destinations prone to flooding. Many metropolises are expected to look ‘drastically different’ within decades.
The metropolitan areas of Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Providence and Las Vegas are cited as the largest metropolitan regions expected to experience the largest relative exodus due to flood risk.
Meanwhile, there are relatively ‘safe zones’ such as Jefferson County in Louisville, Kentucky, is seeing an influx of new residents.
Dr Jeremy Porter, head of climate implications at First Street Foundation, which produced the peer-reviewed report, told DailyMail.com that people are increasingly basing their moves on climate factors.
The U.S. was hit by 23 disasters in an eight-month period in 2023, each causing losses of at least $1 billion (mapped), surpassing the previous annual record of 22 events with ten-figure price tags in 2022.
“Over the last five years, people have really started paying attention to climate data because it affects their moves,” he said.
Polls confirm this. A recent Zillow A report found that 80 percent of Americans consider climate risks when looking for a new home, while Forbes published a survey that found that 30 percent of homeowners said climate change was the reason they moved.
The First Street study identifies the 10 most common climate abandonment areas in America — metropolitan areas where people are leaving en masse due to the increasing risk of climate conditions disrupting their lives and businesses.