The Paradise, Calif., fire in fall 2018 wiped out an entire town in an instant.

 

Because Paradise is remotely located with limited physical infrastructure and access, the fire not only ate up every building in its path, but also took out telephone poles (yes, these still exist), local carrier access boxes, and even an AT&T central office. Cellular service, often sketchy before the fire, was suddenly overwhelmed with emergency personnel looking to implement disaster protocols and people trying to locate loved ones. All of this became infinitely more complex simply because limitations imposed by geography and terrain had dictated how infrastructure was laid out.

 

In the immediate aftermath, local government and school districts temporarily relocated to Chico, the nearest city with functioning infrastructure, to regroup. Once the temporary offices were up and running, the next question was determining which telecommunications services in Paradise were still functioning, and what should be done with them.